


Tooth, Nail and Knife

by ctwriites



Category: Wolf's Rain
Genre: Angst and Feels, Canonical Character Death, F/M, Friendship, Gen, Mutual Pining, Post-Apocalypse, Wolves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-10
Updated: 2020-04-29
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:09:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 24
Words: 57,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23581378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ctwriites/pseuds/ctwriites
Summary: “Makes two of us, then.” Kiba puffed quietly, acknowledging the slight surprise in her eyes that looked up at him as he admitted in the same quiet tone, "I lost enough before we met, but I'm not about to lose you, too.” The horrible thought of losing her scared him to his core, of losing the she-wolf who had stolen his heart and made him trust in a pack again, and he would never forgive himself for it.
Relationships: Blue (Wolf's Rain)/Hige (Wolf's Rain), Kiba (Wolf's Rain)/Original Female Character(s), Tsume (Wolf's Rain)/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 8





	1. prologue - Tooth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wolf's Rain is copyright to BONES/ the only thing i own is this fic, the alterations, and my OCs. 
> 
> posted this here bcos this fandom needs a revival of some sort. also this was a hit on ff.net so i figured 'Why Not?'

More than anything she wanted to drop it.  
  
“Get back here, thieving bitch!” If she wasn’t preoccupied with trying to bust out of the place in one piece, she would’ve taken the brief chance to taunt her pursuers.  
  
_I’ll return these beauties when you stop chasing me long enough to stick my foot up your ass_ , she thought with a brief and rueful puff.  
  
The thief dove into one alley and then another and another, silently cursing those fools to hell as she kept running, at last twisting into a wide alley and skidding to a halt. Unfortunately, the alley was a dead-end with a high rising wall of cemented stone between her and her destination.  
  
“Shit.”  
  
“Oh-ho, you done running now, girl?” She slightly jumped at the voice of one of her pursuers as she didn’t turn or felt the need to because she heard all three of them find her cornered like the streetrat she was.  
  
The woman’s shoulders squared and her hands fisted at her sides as her nails dug crescents into her bound palms. _Geez, he’s definitely gonna chew my ass when I get back…_  
  
“What’s the matter, cat got your tongue?” The trio jeered at their leader’s little joke as the man added, “give back what you stole and my boss just might be merciful.”  
  
_Fat chance_.  
  
“Suppose I should be flattered, ne, given you three gorillas are actually talking coherently.” She felt a dangerous smirk curl her upper lip as she exhaled shortly before turning when the main ape advanced towards her.  
  
She sidestepped his lunge but not before grabbing a fistful of his jacket sleeve and raising her left fist to collide with his fat nose when he twisted slightly to glare at her, letting go of his sleeve to ram her boot up his groin, sending the man reeling with colorful expletives.  
  
“ _B-bitch_ ; get her!” He snarled between his meaty paws that held his broken and bleeding nose, blearily seeing the other two surge forward at their thief.  
  
The woman’s smirk lingered as she ducked out of the way of the second man’s swing for her head to then use her left leg to knock his from under him. She twisted to smack her right hand’s palm in the third man's flat face and shove him with ease so he crashed back-first into a nearby set of trash cans.  
  
Turning on the first ape, she sprinted for him and sprang into the air using his head as a leg up, landing nimbly on the ledge of the concrete wall.  
  
She threw a serene smile over her shoulder at the groaning trio, “pleasure doing business with ya, boys!” She sang before hopping over the wall and booking it home. 

His ears perked when the door to the room opened from the other side, but given he knew her well enough by now, he didn’t bother looking up as she slipped into the darkened room, “ _You_ sure took your time.”  
  
“Shut up, I’m still here. You fret too much…” She scoffed lightly, fishing the prize out of the confines of her coat pocket and tossing them at him so he caught them with a practiced hand. “I almost pity those assholes for being so naïve.” She added with a scratch of her head.  
  
He looked down at the pilfered strings of pearls and gold chains, smirking wryly. She made for a damned-good thief after all, “good. Just don’t play it too close to the chest next time.” He nodded to her as both gazes met.  
  
She smiled serenely when her blue eyes met his amber, “I can’t make a solid promise on that, but I’ll try anyway, Tsume- _onii_.”  
  
Tsume rolled his eyes at her sass as she sat down at his right with a sigh, and he poked her temple. “I swear you’re impossible, even for a brat sister,” he smirked knowingly when her lower lip jutted out in a pout at his brotherly gesture.  
  
“Che, shut up.” Nikki grumbled as she turned her head away.


	2. Nail I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'italics' - wolf speech

This whole scene **reeked** of bad idea.  
  
“That is **not** a dog… Pull it out.” His low voice made the men jump slightly as he nodded his chin a bit when the one closest to the aged tree shot him a reluctant look.  
  
Her sky blue gaze remained fixed on the hollowed tree's occupant as the mentioned man stuck his hand in.  
  
Like lightning, a streak of white lunged at the intruder and ripped his throat out with the same measure of speed, causing the now-dead man to hit the cracked concrete slab.  
  
She swallowed a growl of surprise at watching the loner round on the second man who attempted to cut him down with arrows from his crossbow, bringing the other down as he had done the first man, flexing her fingers that had reflexively curled into fists at her sides.  
  
Typical of her brother to state the obvious.  
  
“How interesting.” He hummed lowly at her side, and she stole a glance at him to see he was locked in a stiff staring contest with the loner.  
  
The loner’s snout crinkled to reveal fangs stained with blood, watching the apparent alpha slowly back away before he took off at a sprint away from the scene. A snarl escaped the former before he gave chase at top speed with his tail in the air.  
  
She rubbed her hand over her face, “Sunnuvabitch…” She booked it after the two at a sprint, rounding one corner and then another before dropping her guise and picking up the pace.  
  
Both males were locked in a fur-flying squabble when she reached the top of the lone tower they had run to, one wolf glancing off the other on one instance before the other headbutted and kicked the other in the head and already injured leg.  
  
_Idiots_ … She rushed into the squabble as the stranger lunged at him, headbutting him in the neck and knocking him away. ‘ _Enough!_ ’ She snapped as she stood between the scuffed males.  
  
“What the hell?” He snapped as he scowled at her back.  
  
The loner shook his head with a growl as he straightened slightly from being sideswiped, looking on the female whose tail was in the air. ‘ _Even if you **are** a female, I won’t hold back. Move._’ He ordered.  
  
‘ _You’re cute; do you charm all girls with that line?_ ’ She flashed her fangs. ‘ _Regardless, it’s smart to stop this now before the humans get here._ ’ She added and knew she didn’t need to look at her brother behind her to know he understood.  
  
The other wolf recognized her point and slightly nodded, his ears twitching as they heard a set of footsteps heading up the stairs that led to the roof, and he turned away to leave them while favoring his left leg.  
  
She looked at her brother as their stares met when he looked away from glancing at the stairs, turning to nuzzle his cheek with hers, ‘ _don’t let them catch you._ ’ She advised with a slight smile, turning away to follow the stranger down the steps of the other side of the tower.

His nose wrinkled a little at the dated fountain water, looking down at his reflection in the surface before he caught the scent of that she-wolf… He exhaled slightly and said, ‘ _you’re not very sneaky._ ’  
  
She landed nimbly from having been observing him atop a nearby low roof. “You’re already banged up, didn’t want to worsen your condition.” She remarked as she folded her arms at her chest.  
  
The wolf looked over his shoulder at the she-wolf with fur as black as night and met her silver eyes, noting her human guise of a tanned face with blue eyes and short black hair. ‘ _I can walk fine, thank you._ ’ He sniffed, favoring his leg as he went down one alley.  
  
She followed and kept at his left with ease due to his slowed pace, lowering her arms only to rub her neck with a hand. “It’s not wise to be in fur.” She commented.  
  
‘ _Like **you’re** an expert on that… I didn’t ask you to tag along, either._’ He shot her a scowl.  
  
“At least **I** know better than to waltz in here on four legs, tough guy.” She returned the scowl as she slid her hands into the pockets of her blue coat, adding when hearing him snort at her jab, “And anyway, I’m keeping my head down. My brother and his crew aren’t too popular with the dogs who run this place.”  
  
He scoffed this time, ‘ _ **Now** I see the resemblance. I don’t need a pupsitter, so if you’re preoccupied with that jerk you can go back; I’m not stopping you._'  
  
“Then since you’re so insisting, I’m **staying**.” She scoffed back, watching him stop to scowl up at her, to which she folded her arms complacently and arched a brow in challenge.  
  
‘ _You’re too stubborn for a she-wolf…_ ’ The white wolf grumbled and shook his head.  
  
“You flatter me…” She chuckled, traipsing at his side when he continued again, asking calmly, “so, Prince Charming, you got a name?”  
  
He rolled his eyes at her sarcasm, ‘ _Kiba._ ’  
  
“Nikki.” She nodded slightly in return.  
  
The odd couple crossed into a small marketplace and, while _she_ was virtually invisible in human skin, she couldn’t help but catch the fleeting looks extended to the wolf at her side. She fought a bristle that raced down her spine and kept a stoic mask in place.  
  
_Just keep walking, just keep walking_ …  
  
The sound of a gun clicking shattered her mantra as they both stiffened in place before turning a bit to look at the old hunter wielding a shotgun with a black dog at his side, the mutt growling as its clear blue eyes were locked on the duo.  
  
_Two wolves in plain sight_.  
  
Upper lip curling in an instinctive urge to flash her sharpened teeth, she reached for a knife when the dog gave a bark before lunging at the obvious wolf who snarled at it with his teeth bared. “Go…!” She started to order him to run.  
  
‘ _Get moving_ ,’ he snapped at her heels, making her jump slightly to avoid his nip, gold meeting blue. ‘ _ **Now**!_’ He ordered before turning to meet the dog’s charge with a louder snarl.  
  
She hesitated for a half-second before leaving his side to dive into the nearest alley, turning down one corner and then another before the gun went off, the resounding noise erupting into the air.  
  
She almost stopped in her retreat at hearing the gunshot, looking back at the way she had come; giving a growl under her breath before using the side wall for leverage, she kicked off from it to hop onto the nearby low roof, landing in a crouch.  
  
The familiar caterwauling of police sirens chased the tension from the morning air, and she straightened to look off at where she could see the red glare of the vehicles arriving to the marketplace below.  
  
She shook her head and shot an exasperated look heavenward before grumbling in the same tone, “idiot wolf.” 

Standing at the base of the stairs that led to the doors of the police station made her feel the slightest bit intimidated.  
  
_Slightest_.  
  
Squaring her shoulders before starting up the stairs, she muttered, “you’d better not be dead, you moron.”  
  
“And where're _you_ going?” A curious voice asked at her back, causing her to freeze a bit before she looked back at the tan wolf with amber eyes at the foot of the stairwell.  
  
“Hige.” She smiled at her friend, having given an exhale in relief as she had half-thought it was her brother who had found her.  
  
The wiry-haired boy returned the smile before placing his hands in the pocket of his yellow hoodie, “don’t tell me ya finally lost it, Nik.” He joked.  
  
She rolled her eyes and nodded slightly for him to join her, hearing him come to her right before she explained, “not today am I; I’m here to get someone out.”  
  
He raised both brows in surprise before rubbing his neck and wondering, “Cripes, don’t tell me it’s your brother… I’d have figured that jerk could worm his way out of getting leashed by _these_ guys.”  
  
“It’s not him, but _this_ idiot… Well, you’ll have to see for yourself. Now come on.” She sighed and jogged up the remaining steps, some part of her glad that he had come even if he didn't completely know she was going to break a certain hotshot out of the station.  
  
“Geez… wait up, princess!” He griped, having groaned a little in her wake, following at her heels.  
  
Sneaking in was easy, much to her surprise, as the people at work discounted their odd pair as being part of the custodian crews. The two friends walked to the nearest stairwell exit to follow the scent of wolf that lingered in the precinct, making this whole plan that much easier.  
  
“Come on, Nik, have a little mercy…” Hige panted as she had jogged ahead of him down the second flight of stairs.  
  
Nikki deadpanned as she stopped at the well of the final set of stairs and looked back at him from waiting for him to reach her, reasoning patiently, “it’s not like you’re _that_ fat, so stop bein' a pup… One more flight won’t kill you.”  
  
Hige shot a look at the serene smile on her pretty face when he reached the last stairwell, wiping his brow of sweat. “You owe me for this,” he breathed out a wager.  
  
“Deal!” She lightly patted his cheek, ignoring his pout, before turning about to descend the next set of stairs and hearing him follow.  
  
With a relieved Hige in tow, Nikki was first to the room where they were keeping him. Both wolves, after checking that they were safe, slipped in through one door to find the large cage holding the captive wolf in the center of the spacious room.  
  
“So that's him, then?” Hige asked curiously as he watched her approach the cage and crouch before the sleeping wolf.  
  
Nikki nodded, minding for a moment that he looked a wholly different person when he was sleeping… A small smile crept onto her lips as she quietly replied, “yeah.”  
  
Cracking open an eye at hearing and catching the she-wolf's scent again, the white wolf looked up at his visitor. ‘ _ **You’re** still here?_’ He wondered blandly.  
  
Her smile fell at his greeting and her brow gave a twitch as she sniffed back, “ _you’re_ still alive I see.”  
  
Sarcasm was **so** not his color.  
  
“Nik didn’t say you’d screwed up like this.” Hige gave a low whistle of surprise as he stepped up to the odd couple, earning twin mild looks in return; he added with a scritch of his head, “I’ve seen one of our own get caught before, but not **this** bad!”  
  
A deadpan expression crossed Kiba’s furry face. ‘ _I can get out of here whenever I want to, y’know,_ ’ he remarked dryly.  
  
“Then why’re you still in there?” Hige refrained from rolling his garnet eyes as he recognized that brand of sass from somewhere else.  
  
‘ _I just needed a place to rest for a bit, that’s all…_ ’  
  
“I’m Hige, nice to meet ya.”  
  
‘ _Why’re you in here?_ ’  
  
“No reason, I just smelled something interesting and decided to follow my nose. ‘Sides, the princess here dragged my ass along into this lion’s den.”  
  
‘ _…That’s not your true form, why do you hide yourself?_ ’  
  
“So I don’t end up in your shoes. People are scared of us, so y’know, if we _look_ like them, they pretty much leave us alone.” He gave a nonchalant shrug.  
  
His upper lip curled in a mild sense of frustration, ‘ _Living a lie, just to die miserably in this city?_ ’  
  
“Gotta do what you can to survive, right? Keep lookin’ like that and you’ll be back in no time flat; it draws way too much attention.” Hige said innocently.  
  
‘ _Have you given up your **pride** as a wolf?_’ Kiba let a growl escape his mouth as he slightly straightened to glare at the pudgier male.  
  
Hige cut across Nikki when she started to tell him to clam up, giving a somewhat-amazed scoff, “You’re a strange one all right; but that pride doesn’t really matter if you’re dead, ne?” He smiled wryly at the wolf’s sharpened gaze as he absorbed the truth of his words.  
  
Nikki relaxed at seeing his reasoning had calmed the other wolf, slightly jumping when alarms then started going off throughout the building and straightening to scowl back at the doors.  
  
“I think that’s our cue, boys…” she grumbled before trailing off when a growl came from the caged wolf, looking at him with some measure of amazement as his strong jaws forced the steel bars to bend at a wide enough angle to slip free.  
  
Bending the bars just enough to escape his cage, the white wolf slipped out even as her earlier jab about hiding his true self warred with his pride for a moment before he gave a soft puff in reluctant defeat. His body stretched and grew until a boy her age with wild brown hair and green eyes stood there.  
  
His sharp eyes didn’t miss the slightly-agape expression on her pretty face and a smirk weighed on his lips as he asked, “what is it?”  
  
“E-eh, I… Nothing.” Her ears reddened and she glared at the hint of amusement in his green stare, turning away with purpose to stride up to the doors and order the both of them over her shoulder, voice gruff, “move your asses, come on.”  
  
Hige suppressed a shudder at hearing how much like a certain jerkoff she sounded, trailing after her with Kiba at his heels.  
  
He was briefly surprised the other could hobble so fast, though he **did** see the other all-but break those steel bars with just his teeth, so he supposed one really **did** learn something new every day.  
  
Having lifted the collar of her coat to hide the lower half of her face out of precaution, Nikki kept her eyes down when policemen jogged past them through the corridors, unawares of the trio of disguised wolves, letting Hige take point to head to the nearest exit.  
  
She glanced at Kiba when he came to her right, her blue gaze roving over his handsome face for a long second before curtly looking away when he felt her stare, giving a sniff.  
  
That jerk, who the hell was **he** to try and woo **her** with a pretty face? She was an island, damn it, she was strong and confident and sharp…  
  
_Idiot wolf_.

She looked up at the moon.  
  
It wasn’t like she could touch it, and it wasn’t like she could really feel its strength fill her up like if there wasn't a dome between them, either.  
  
Humans tried to protect their skies with their inventions, when in retrospect it was the devils inside their walls they needed to worry about.  
  
She looked away to close her eyes as she considered the strange tug earlier on when that word was brought up between the two now-sleeping males.  
  
Paradise.  
  
She looked off to the rest of the decrepit city’s buildings, the familiar stinks of the decaying world she had known for the last count of years assailing her nose, yet her mind was caught on her brother and what he would always say if the ‘ **P** ’ word was brought up.  
  
He would think it stupid of her to chase after a make-believe place where their parents probably were, if she knew him well and at this point she did, telling her to grow up and to not believe in such a thing.  
  
Though Tsume couldn’t explain the tug in her chest she felt at mention of Paradise, and he sure as hell wouldn’t dream of following a hotshot off to someplace that didn’t exist…  
  
“It’s not real… the moonlight, I mean.” Speak of the devil; she glanced at him as he had sensed she was still awake and pretended his piercing stare wasn’t digging holes into the side of her head.  
  
She huffed quietly. “Thanks for the update. I knew that ever since I started living in this place… Humans don’t exactly like natural things anymore,” she remarked at hearing him shuffle to sit with her on the edge of the old building's roof they had sought refuge on hours ago. She added when he sat down, “you shouldn’t move so much with that leg.”  
  
He rolled his eyes at her comment, “I’ve done worse. And besides, if you knew that then why’d you stick around?” He asked as he looked up at the domed sky.  
  
Nikki slightly wrinkled her nose, “It’s not like I had a say in it, I was young when we came here.”  
  
Kiba glanced at her again as a soft breeze stole past their tower and played with their hair, and he huffed slightly. “You’re pretty brave to have done what you did today.”  
  
Especially for a complete stranger… Though he would admit some part of him was touched by her urge to help out a fellow wolf. He hadn’t seen that in years.  
  
Heat began to creep up her neck at his observations and she looked off with determination as she reasoned, “don’t think I did it just to shake my tail at you or anything gross like that… I just didn't see the point in beatin' the shit out of an idiot who's _already_ been through the wringer.”  
  
A smirk crept onto his lips at seeing he had left her flustered, and he looked away to hide the smirk. “That’s pretty noble for a thief… though it's ironic that you don’t strike me as a tease.” He mused.  
  
_Wait, did he just compliment her…?_  
  
She blinked once at his words before looking at him with a cheeky smirk gracing her pretty face, “so those namesake teeth are just for show, aren’t they?”  
  
Near-visibly bristling at her poking, he averted his gaze with a scoff despite the flush that made his pale cheeks look pink. “Don’t flatter yourself… You’re still a hot-headed _thief_ ,” he sniffed.  
  
“And _you’re_ just a sweet puppy under that stoic mask,” she hummed as she looked away to the rest of the city.  
  
He scowled sorely and groused, “shut up.” His ears tingled at her barely-stifled giggle.


	3. Nail II

“… _Spotted a wolf just the other day!_ ”  
  
“ _Oh what is this world coming to…?_ ”  
  
She barely stifled a snort of derision at overhearing the two gossiping hens nearby, glancing at the small dog with them at seeing it cower behind the ritzier woman’s legs.  
  
Her brow twitched when noticing a certain wolf was the one scaring the piss out of the ankle-biter and she lightly whacked the back of his head, schooling her face into a serene mask when he rubbed his head gingerly and shot her a scowl.  
  
“Scare that little pipsqueak any further and he’ll piss on his master,” she chided under her breath as they walked after the tan wolf.  
  
He felt his own brow twitch and he elbowed her, “like **you** weren’t listening to them too.” He returned in the same tone.  
  
She rolled her eyes and tilted her chin up a bit as she retorted coolly, “beats scaring the hell out of that mutt… I can control myself in comparison to **you** , hotshot.”  
  
She left him to follow the tan wolf who had been sniffing (and pilfering) the cooking hotdogs on the nearest kiosk to turn down the next corner.  
  
Kiba scowled at her back before his gaze drifted to the subtle curve of her hips.  
  
Not only was she perpetually stubborn but she was downright cocky… He mentally whacked himself for staring at her and strode after his companions to enter the small alley just as Hige tossed him a hotdog that he caught with an expert hand.  
  
“Told ya that noone notices us,” Hige said lightly between tossing the third dog to their she-wolf.  
  
Nikki caught it and took a bite out of the dog, blinking once when Kiba gave a cautious sniff of the gifted food, smirking wryly behind her hand she wiped her mouth with, humming before taking another bite of her dog, “it’s not gonna bite your nose off.”  
  
Kiba shot another scowl at her before he took a bite and a grimace crossed his face as he commented, “this tastes awful…”  
  
Hige and Nikki shared a look before the former huffed and remarked sardonically, “s’ the best you can get around here, though if I see a deer loping by, I’ll make sure to catch it for ya.”  
  
Nikki wiped her hands after popping the last piece into her mouth and chewing, her ears twitching when they heard the familiar caterwauling of sirens several blocks away and her brow crinkled as she thought of her brother.  
  
Those sirens had gone off the other night due to his stealing from the nobles, she knew beyond anything given he had the habit of playing too close to the chest sometimes… For all she knew, he had probably caught her scent and made a diversion of himself so she could escape.  
  
Though maybe she was overthinking it.  
  
“…Take them once they’re caught?” Kiba’s voice pulled her from her thoughts.  
  
Hige shrugged, “the same place they took you I guess.”  
  
Kiba nodded and looked at the towering headquarters again as he mused, “sounds perfect. I’ll get caught and sneak back in.”  
  
Nikki shook her head slightly as she couldn’t believe he was thinking what she believed he was thinking. “Hang on a second, you can’t be serious! That dog fried your brain,” she declared.  
  
“Yeah, what the hell happened to Paradise?” Hige agreed quickly as he was equally surprised.  
  
“I’m going back in whether you two agree or not.” Kiba stated seriously, continuing, “the scent’s coming from inside that building, and the only way to find it is to go back in. You know what they're hiding in there, don’t you? The Beacon that’ll lead us to Paradise.”  
  
Hige was first to huff slightly and say, “Well forget it, you’ll never get that close to Cheza.”  
  
“’ _Cheza’?_ ” Kiba echoed with a raised brow.  
  
“That’s the girl they supposedly made from lunar flowers, from what I’ve heard.” Nikki supplied with a slight sigh.  
  
Hige added in, “look, the place is locked up tight; even **we** couldn’t even get as far as the lab.”  
  
Kiba deadpanned and asked him, “so why’d you break me out?”  
  
“For funsies, obviously.” Hige mused with a shrug.  
  
“Hige, don’t you believe in Paradise too?” Kiba asked with a slight frown.  
  
Hige slightly shook his head and answered, “I’m not goin’ back.”  
  
Kiba shrugged at his noncompliance, “see you later then.” He then left their company to head off down the alley.  
  
Nikki pinched the bridge of her nose with a hand as Hige called after him, and she exhaled. “He’s an idiot…” She jogged after his leave and called when she got closer, “hey, hang on!”  
  
Kiba paused slightly when hearing the soft clacking of her boot heels on the concrete as she came up to him, pointing out, “you knew about that scent too, yet you decided to help me."  
  
Nikki huffed slightly, “a blind dog could smell that scent, but I had other priorities at the time so I couldn’t waltz off and end up where you did. Besides, do you have any idea how risky it is to go back into that place?”  
  
“It’s not like I _asked_ you to help me, did I?” Kiba remarked before continuing.  
  
Nikki huffed and turned her head away with a scowl before stating, “ _you'd_ be dead by now if I didn't save your ass, and it's not like I'm here for my own reasons, Kiba!”  
  
He stopped walking to turn and scowl back at her despite the curiosity that brightened his green eyes.  
  
She sobered at earning his attention and explained in a curbed tone, “I know you feel like you were magically led to this place, but that doesn't mean you need to keep going it alone… You clearly need someone who’s more street-smart, and I'm your girl.”  
  
Recognizing her instinctive urge to help him, for whatever reasons she knew or lack thereof, and her reputed stubbornness, he found that he had little room to deny her.  
  
_Maybe it wouldn’t be too bad_ …  
  
“It’s kind of hard to argue with someone who’s so cocky.” Kiba gave a slight exhale in agreement, looking at her slightly surprised gaze with a nod of his chin.  
  
Nikki felt a smile grace her features and returned the nod, following his lead when he started off again. “Y’know, you’re cute when you admit I’m right,” she said cheekily as she traipsed along at his right.  
  
Kiba noted her smile before a wry smirk crossed his lips as he retorted, “don’t flatter yourself, princess.”

The man sneered as he stepped up to her, “Come on baby, why so cold…?”  
  
A sharp ' _crack_ ' sounded when his nose collided with her sucker-punch.  
  
“Sorry baby, but you are **definitely** not my type.” She cracked her knuckles as the sleaze recoiled with his proverbial tail between his legs and his bleeding nose in his hands.  
  
Shooting a cold glare at the possible repeats that stiffened under her stare before keeping to their places in the cell, she sniffed and then shuffled to retake her seat at her companion’s side.  
  
He caught the slight crimson staining her knuckles and did little to fight the measure of reverence towards watching her in action, musing moreso to her in a quieted voice, “point proven.”  
  
Lifting the collar of her coat up to protect her neck from the slight draft, she puffed at that and replied in her defense, “asswipes normally aren’t worth my time, he just annoyed me.”  
  
Kiba opened an eye at her tomboyish response and wondered even though he knew the answer, “you’re an island, aren’t you?”  
  
Nikki’s ear twitched and she looked at him out of the corner of her eye to ask in a tone that sounded eerily familiar, “got a **problem** with it?”  
  
“Nah, it's actually good to know you're not one to show your belly and knuckle under.” He repressed a bristle at the tone she used that sounded too much like her brother's.  
  
A week ago he wouldn't have believed he would ever meet and befriend such a stonewall she-wolf like Nikki, let alone have her demand to help him on this otherwise-dubbed ‘ _risky_ ’ mission, yet here he sat.  
  
Maybe, just maybe, having her along for the ride would make this journey a little lighter.  
  
“If you’re done gawking, you can return to earth now,” she said as she waved a hand infront of his face when seeing he had slipped into his thoughts.  
  
He blinked once at her hand waving in his face before he grabbed her wrist purely on reflex to lower her hand, making a face, “very funny…”  
  
She laughed a little before noticing he had yet to release her wrist, clearing her throat as she retrieved it from his grasp with some hesitance to then remark coolly, “I thought it was.”  
  
Kiba noted the heat creeping its way into her cheekbones and he huffed. “There aren't that many… girls, like you, y'know. From what I imagine, anyway.” He mused more to himself, his pride swelling a degree at recognizing he was the only one who could make her blush.  
  
Nikki looked away as her cheeks colored and she sniffed to remark confidently, “well maybe I’m just a rare breed.”  
  
“Must be, otherwise there’d be less of us to go around if all girls were like you… _ow!_ ” Kiba winced slightly when she slugged him, rubbing his arm and giving her a look as he grumbled, “it’s still healing.”  
  
“Then don’t mouth off like a dumbass?” Nikki offered with a serene smile, folding her arms at her chest despite his sore look that dug into her skull.  
  
“Well it’s good to see you two haven’t killed each other yet.” A familiar voice observed lightly, causing the odd pair to perk up as the cell was opened to let in another batch of prisoners with a certain pudgy wolf amongst them.  
  
“Hige?” Nikki blinked.  
  
Kiba asked for both of their sakes, “what in the world are you doing here?”  
  
Hige plonked down at Nikki’s right and smiled convincingly as he asked, “come on, what’re friends for, right?”  
  
The two wolves shared a deadpan look and answered in unison, “ **that sounds fishy coming from you**.”  
  
“Some friends!” The tan wolf complained, sulking at their lack of confidence in him.

_Searing flames swirled around the wolf pup that ran.  
  
This was once her home, her pack lived here, and now… Now they were dead.  
  
A shrill beeping filled her ears and the pup gave a yelp of pain at the noise…_  
  
She sat up with a slight gasp, shoulders shaking a bit as her widened blue eyes looked at her dark surroundings to slowly recall that she was no longer a pup and that she wasn’t in any danger.  
  
Despite the relief that her reality brought, she felt a shift in the air as something rank made her hackles rise and seemed to permeate the air…  
  
Something was up.  
  
“Something’s gonna happen…” His quieted voice made her jump a little before she looked over at him to find he was also awake.  
  
He glanced at him and asked, “you wanna split?”  
  
“Let’s.” She nodded as she shuffled out from the blanket she and the white wolf had shared as he did the same, looking at the tan wolf as he tapped the other’s shoulder when the lattermost sought to bend the bars like he had done before and withdrew the key from his hair.  
  
She grinned and lightly slapped him on the back as the white wolf took the key to open the door so they could escape.  
  
The trio booked it down one corridor and another and another until they heard approaching footsteps when coming into a small corridor with a ventilation shaft on the left wall.  
  
Kiba opened the vent with ease and looked at his companions, namely the lone female as he offered, “ladies first.”  
  
“That's cute; for all I know, you idiots just want me to go first so ya can have the glorious opportunity of staring at my…” Nikki started to protest before giving an involuntary squeak when he hoisted her up to crawl into the vent. “Ass!” She hissed before the two joined her with Hige closing the vent behind their entrance, leading the way with a grumbled curse.  
  
Blessedly they didn’t linger long in the vent system and it took a sharp kick from Nikki to pop the vent open so they could exit the building.  
  
She looked about the otherwise-dark alley they had ended up in as Hige and Kiba shortly followed her descent, looking at Kiba and following him as he led the way down the alley at top speed with Hige at her side.  
  
They skidded to a halt when coming across a thin bridge overhead that was illuminated by fluorescents, three sets of eyes looking at the lone figure that had chosen that moment to cross the bridge.  
  
The figure was coated from head to toe in black with only a white masque shielding their face and a strange feather-adorned hat on their head with their eyes hidden in shadow. A girl, pale as moonlight with pink hair (from what she could tell), was being carried in their arms.  
  
This stench… This was a noble!  
  
“ **Wolves**.” The trio winced a bit at their true selves being uncovered so easily, looking up at the figure in black who stated in a low voice, “you have my gratitude, for it was you who awoke her… the Flower Maiden is mine.”  
  
“’ _The Maiden’?_ ” Kiba murmured aloud.  
  
Hige gaped, “ _that’s_ Cheza…?”  
  
A loud whirring sounded then as the nobleman lifted the girl up and forced her to awaken by grabbing onto the back of her head of hair.  
  
“ _Take your hands off her!_ ” Nikki snarled between sharpened fangs before wincing when the girl gave an inhuman scream that threatened to burst her sensitive ears.  
  
The scream resonated through her very body and made her chest ache as it had the other night at mention of Paradise. She squinted up when the overhead lights of an airship brightened the alley.  
  
“We’ll meet in Paradise… **if** we meet again that is.” The man drawled as the light only shined brighter around him and he began to depart.  
  
Kiba rushed for the bridge and would’ve made the jump if he wasn't knocked down by a familiar black wolf, rolling onto his back with his hands gripping her arms that pinned him by his shoulders, growling angrily as his amber locked on her silver. “Let go of me, Nikki…!” He snapped.  
  
“Dumbass, what good could you do? He’s already _gone!_ ” Nikki shouted over him, watching surprise adorn his face before he looked away from her to look above them at seeing the lights had died down, her shoulders shaking a little at the whirlwind of her thoughts regarding her nightmare plus that noble's gloating.  
  
Kiba refocused on her then, quieting at distinctly seeing her eyes darken with some mixture of pain and sadness he couldn't hope to reach, watching her striking silver eyes shift back to that sky blue color, and he asked in a strangely-soft voice, “you okay?”  
  
Ears perking at the barely-concealed concern in his voice, Nikki nodded and shuffled away to let him up, straightening out her coat and huffing as she looked away from his burning stare to tell Hige who had recovered from covering his ears at that girl's scream, “yeah, freakin' peachy. We’ve gotta get out of here.”  
  
Hige nodded as the white wolf had straightened to keep her in his sights, looking away and wrinkling his nose as he caught the stench of nearby sewage. “C’mon, let’s move.” He led the way to the nearest manhole.


	4. Nail III

“Come on, Nik, Kiba even made me save one for ya…” Hige wheedled, trying to get her to eat the last rat they had caught when fleeing into the sewers.  
  
Nikki wrinkled her nose, “thanks but hard pass. And anyway, you know you wanna to eat it.” She rolled her eyes at the pudgy wolf’s slight pout before he gobbled up the last rat, musing to the both of them as her thoughts shifted to their encounter, “the flower scent is gone now, never mind that that noble gave me the creeps…”  
  
Kiba huffed, “he knew we were wolves the second he looked at us.”  
  
“So why’re we still moping around; let’s go look for Paradise.” Hige suggested if only to dispel the melancholic mood that had come over the odd pair.  
  
“There has to be another way for us to get to Paradise, there must be.” Nikki said thoughtfully.  
  
“You were there, weren’t you? That _was_ our only way. Cheza is the Beacon that’ll lead us to Paradise.” Kiba countered as he looked at her.  
  
Hige wondered if Kiba was this deep a thinker **all** the time, commenting, “that freak said a lot of crazy stuff, didn’t he? If you’re thinking of going after him, you’re outta your mind; he’s a noble if I’ve ever seen one.”  
  
Kiba raised a brow in mild confusion and echoed, “’ _a noble’?_ ”  
  
“They’re the lowest of the low among humans, yet they’re also the most powerful. That’s as far as I know anyway… Hige’s got a point, though,” Nikki explained as she scritched the back of her head.  
  
“Maybe hangin' around me so much has made ya _soft_ , princess…” Hige poked only to duck the rat tail she tossed at him with a growl in her throat, waving it off and stifling a yawn, “anyway, just let it go, will you?” He suggested to the white wolf before lying on his side to await sleep.  
  
Nikki rubbed her temples as it seemed only seconds before the tan wolf was snoring, and she exhaled to muse wryly, “the world **must** be coming to an end if I actually agreed with Hige…”  
  
“You felt it too,” Kiba mused quietly, earning a look from her as he elaborated, “you felt her pain and sadness. I know you did.”  
  
Nikki bristled slightly at being under scrutiny from him and she quieted. “I didn’t feel the earth move when I tackled you, so don’t get your hopes up…”  
  
“ _Nikki_.” He quietly growled her name.  
  
“… And if I say I felt it, _then_ what?” She returned in an uncharacteristically small voice, making his ears twitch.  
  
He refrained from pointing out that he was right after all, looking at the murky waters that streamed past their shelter, answering in a quiet tone, “then you understand _more_ than what you’ve seen and heard about Paradise, and Cheza.”  
  
She caught his pensive tone and ran a hand through her hair, musing aloud, “maybe that’s it, or maybe you threw me a bit too hard into that damn vent…”  
  
“You’re too bullheaded to let a little toss dent your skull.” Kiba remarked, moving his arm when she sought to slug him and smiling innocently at the disgruntled look that crossed her face, “cute.”  
  
Her lower lip jutted out as she curtly looked elsewhere, brushing locks behind her ear and letting a pocket of silence come between them before she said, voice soft, “it still doesn’t explain the nightmare I had… before we met her.”  
  
His ears twitched again and he looked at her to find her gaze had dropped to the scuffs on her boot toes, his eyes tightening a bit as he asked for curiosity's sake, “what was it about?”  
  
She relaxed against the wall and kicked her feet a bit, voice still soft as she explained, “our pack was cut down years ago when we were still little. Some noble sent his soldiers to ‘ _cleanse_ ’ the forest of any wolves that night… Tsume and I were the only survivors.”  
  
Kiba’s brow crinkled into a frown as he listened to her and momentarily took his own past into consideration, finding with surprise that maybe he had more in common with Tsume than he thought.  
  
_And with her_.  
  
Nikki huffed slightly at the memory, musing more to herself, “guess I knew then that this world was already damned and would only get worse.”  
  
“Is that why you think about Paradise…?” Kiba wondered aloud, earning a glance from her.  
  
She considered it before nodding, “Mum always told me that it was a beautiful place, that there were flowers everywhere… there was nothing like death or fear or sadness in Paradise. I’ve always kinda felt I would go look for it one day when I was old enough… guess it really **is** just a pup's dream after all,” she chuckled slightly.  
  
“Only if you think it is.” He calmly interrupted and made her look at him with a measure of surprise in her eyes, proposing in the same calm tone, "if you think Paradise is more than just a fairy tale, than what your brother believes, then come with me."  
  
Their stares held, green and blue, and he minded the childlike need to find the truth in her stare. He didn't say it, much less considered telling her for want of keeping the quiet of their alcove, but he took heart at seeing her brighten up at the mere thought of Paradise. It gave her hope, he felt, that she wasn't naive to think about leaving the city to chase a dream.  
  
It was then that he knew, whether by instinct or some hormone-driven impulse, that he would take her to Paradise… he didn’t know how long it would take, or how dangerous it would get, but he knew that they would find Paradise together.  
  
“Kiba…” she looked away from his piercing stare for a moment as the heat in her cheeks made them look rosy, giving a soft sigh in a measure of resignation to what fate had dragged her into before her eyes lifted to lock on his as she asked, “together?”  
  
Acknowledging the determination that graced her tanned face and brightened her eyes, he nodded as his own eyes softened a bit, “together.”  
  
A particularly loud snore came from the sleeping tan wolf near them.  
  
The pair of wolves deadpanned at their friend's intrusion on the moment and looked at each other before sharing a quiet chuckle.

This place positively reeked and she hoped to the moon that the coast was clear above.  
  
“Can you see anything…?” He asked from beneath their lookout.  
  
She covered her mouth with the folded collar of her coat and seriously contemplated shoving both of them out of the damn manhole, cops or not…  
  
“Nope, not much… Hey look, it’s one of ours…!” He said chirpily as if there weren’t two slowly suffocating wolves under him.  
  
_That’s it_.  
  
Kiba gave an involuntary yelp when being headbutted in the rear which made him shove Hige out of the manhole and out into the open.  
  
“Hey!” He groused before looking at the one responsible for his somewhat-sore tailbone as she scrambled out to take an exaggerated intake of air, scowling at her as he demanded, “the hell was that for?”  
  
“ _You_ try being the bottom man inside a damn sewer, _then_ talk to me!” Nikki retorted as she made a flippant gesture to the manhole they had been shoved out of, straightening as he and Hige gathered themselves.  
  
Kiba scrubbed a hand over his face to refrain from arguing that she could've held her breath, knowing that in her irritation she would clock him, exhaling to then look to the set of wide gold eyes that ogled them in bewilderment.  
  
Nikki followed his observing gaze to blink once at finding the brown wolf only feet away from them who looked like a scrawny pup more than anything. Her gaze softened slightly at meeting another wolf, much less a pup.  
  
‘ _Y-you guys are… no way!_ ’ The pup managed to get out.  
  
Kiba caught the softened look on her face disappear as she looked past the new wolf and he followed her gaze to see a girl had walked in on them before freezing at seeing their odd quartet, her shocked expression speaking volumes.  
  
‘ _Leara!_ ’ The pup said when hearing the girl come into the alley, turning to face her; dropping his gaze as his ears flattened, he added, ‘ _I’m sorry for what happened, about your bird…_ ’  
  
“She doesn’t understand you, pup…” Nikki started to say when the girl screamed for her father, making the four wolves wince.  
  
Kiba groaned a little at their luck and turned back to the sewage pipes, grabbing her hand in his and being the first to leave the scene, hearing her slight yelp as Hige shortly followed their exit with the pup at their heels.  
  
“Where’s the pup?” Nikki asked when she and Kiba had scrambled into one of the bigger pipes and dropped onto a higher level of the sewers, looking at Hige when he joined them seconds later.  
  
Hige started to answer when a slight yelp sounded from the pipe he’d entered through and the brown pup landed before them in a slight heap.  
  
The pup gingerly rubbed his head with a hand as he had taken the guise of a teenager with brown hair and gold eyes, cracking them open to look up at the trio present with slight relief, offering a meek apology, “s-sorry about that…”  
  
Nikki slightly shook her head before offering a hand, letting him take it before she helped him up. “We’ve had worse. That could’ve been handled a bit smoother though, y’know.” She nodded up at the surface.  
  
The pup offered a weak chuckle before perking up a bit when the white wolf started off down the sewers, the tan wolf following, and the black wolf turned to follow their leave before she looked back at him with a light smile and nodded her head forward. He smiled at her invitation and scampered after them.  
  
“So, you got a name?” She wondered of their newest addition.  
  
“E-eh, oh yeah! I’m Toboe.” The pup answered with a slightly sheepish rub of his neck and another smile.  
  
She nodded at his introduction, “cool name. I’m Nikki, the fluffy pudge is Hige, and the perpetually distant idiot is Kiba!” She returned with a serene smile back at the pup who chuckled at the other two males' tags.  
  
“’ _Fluffy pudge’!_ ” Hige echoed with a hurt sniff.  
  
“’ _Perpetually distant idiot’…?_ ” Kiba deadpanned, scowling slightly at her over his shoulder and offering to the pup, “Then don’t mind _her_ , she’s a cocky thief.”  
  
“Shut it, hotshot!” Nikki snapped cattily, glaring daggers at his back when he faced forward again.  
  
Toboe failed to cover up a laugh at the odd couple’s antics, looking at their supposed leader as he asked, “so where’re you guys headed?”  
  
“Where do you think, runt? The exit!” Hige huffed lightly, ignoring the pup’s pout at his new nickname.  
  
Nikki whacked the back of his head on reflex, “he _means_ that we’re leaving town.”  
  
“Then where’re you going?” Toboe wondered.  
  
“To Paradise.” Kiba informed with a shrug from the front as if that were the easiest answer in the world.  
  
“’ _Paradise’_ …” Toboe paused then, causing Nikki and Hige to also stop and look at him, and he asked, “hey, do you guys know Tsume?”  
  
Nikki sighed a little, “unfortunately.”  
  
“Why’d you ask?” Hige wondered.  
  
“The wolf with the scar on his chest?” Kiba clarified for the pup.  
  
“Yeah, that’s him, all right!” Toboe brightened up at that, throwing the she-wolf off for a second as she had never met anyone who thought so highly of her brother.  
  
“Okay, what about him?” Kiba asked as he looked back at the youngest.  
  
Toboe’s bright expression faltered and he glanced down at his boots as he answered, “w-well I figured that if we’re leaving, maybe he’d wanna come along too…”  
  
Nikki considered his suggestion when watching Kiba draw away to inspect something on the cement one manhole only feet away. She shrugged past Hige who had turned to Toboe only to catch whiff of her brother's blood at noting it was the very same that had caught Kiba's eye.  
  
Looking up at the world above, she grumbled under her breath at whatever trouble her brother had gotten involved in, "geez, Tsume…”  
  
“He can’t be far off.” Kiba mused as he looked up at her.  
  
“I know where he is.” Nikki replied with a slight nod, letting him stand to his feet before she led the way further into the sewers with her brother’s scent in her nose, distantly hearing Kiba follow her lead with Hige and Toboe bringing up the rear.

His arm still hurt, but it wasn’t as bad as earlier… His ears twitched as he heard voices approaching the door of the run-down complex he’d hidden himself in, and he hopped to his feet in preparation to fight or run.  
  
“… What a crapheap, why would he hide out in here of all places?” The tan wolf scoffed as the door opened so the four wolves piled in with the white wolf in the lead.  
  
“You?” The gray wolf began in surprise.  
  
“Tsume!” The black wolf beamed at seeing him present, embracing her brother who reflexively hugged back, before she stepped away a little to smack his chest with a hand and scold, “you moron!”  
  
Tsume winced at her gesture and rubbed his chest gingerly, “I missed you too… Where in hell have you been? I caught your scent at the police station…” He asked.  
  
“It’s a long story…” Nikki replied with a slightly sheepish glance elsewhere.  
  
“We could smell the blood from your wound all the way from town.” Kiba chose that inconvenient moment to open his mouth, ignoring the sharp glance from their she-wolf, his gaze set on her brother.  
  
Tsume’s nose wrinkled at seeing the white wolf again, huffing indifferently, “and what about it? Don’t intend to nurse me back to health, do you? I don’t need you, _especially_ since you're sniffing after my baby sister!” He said with renewed bite.  
  
Nikki’s cheeks colored as Kiba also blushed at the accusation, the former shaking her head before scowling at her brother and starting patiently, “Tsume, that’s not what happened, Kiba and I…”  
  
“And _you_ , I can’t turn my back for one damn second without catching wind of you getting in trouble. You’re not a pup anymore, Nikki, you know how things go.” Tsume turned to scold her, scowling at her exasperated look.  
  
“Look, Tsume, we’re all leaving the city, and I really think you should come with us…” Toboe interrupted before an argument could ensue between the siblings.  
  
Tsume shot a mild look at the pup, acknowledging the tan wolf near him and lastly looking at the odd couple before asking with doubt, “so where is this merry band _going?_ ”  
  
“To Paradise.” Kiba answered calmly, not missing the sharp glance extended to the she-wolf at his side from her brother.  
  
“You’re kidding, you actually believe in that crap?” Tsume asked with a disbelieving scoff, adding flippantly, “I wouldn’t put it past you to brainwash _those two_ , but my sister? That’s pretty low even for _you_.” He glared at the white wolf again.  
  
“For God’s sake…” Nikki began.  
  
Toboe put in again, “if we stay here, we’ll have to spend the rest of our lives in hiding or worse! We just can’t live with humans anymore and survive.” His face darkened as he thought of that girl.  
  
Hige piped up from standing near the windows, “I hate to interrupt but we’ve got company.”  
  
Nikki glanced out past him at the patch of grassy earth littered with police and her nose wrinkled as she muttered, “idiot humans.”  
  
“Let me ask you guys something: why'd you come to this city in the first place? It was because of the flower scent, right…? Well that's gone now, so there’s no reason to stay.” Kiba asked of the room at large, noting only the she-wolf glanced at him as he looked between the four wolves.  
  
Tsume gave an indifferent scoff and shot a look at his sister who scowled in return, “the flower scent has nothing to do with it. I’m here because I belong, and so is _she_.”  
  
“I can see that, this city is a dump. But your sister is different… she _wants_ to go to Paradise, and she’s coming with me.” Kiba retorted flatly.  
  
“I’ve still got a score to settle with you…” Tsume growled out as he glared at the younger male and taking a step closer to him despite the exasperated comment from the tan wolf, asking coolly, “the last time we met you mentioned something about how your pride wouldn’t let you pass for a human. You look damn-well _human_ to me… where’d your pride go?”  
  
“Nowhere, because nothing’s changed,” Kiba answered.  
  
Tsume bristled at the thought of his sister purposefully putting herself in whatever dangers the wild had for her, and he asked him, “do you have the slightest idea of what’ll happen if you leave the city? You’ll die.”  
  
He never showed it openly, but he _did_ care about his baby sister, and he would be damned if some hotshot brainwashed her into getting killed out there.  
  
“Possibly… death is a natural part of life, but if your life has no purpose, then you’re already dead.” Kiba stated.  
  
Whatever Tsume sought to retort next was silenced when bright lights from the police below shone in on the room and made the five wolves recognize their time was up.  
  
The five then found themselves racing to the nearest and temporarily-safest exit before a hail of bullets descended on them from their pursuers when they reached the long pipework that led from the ruined part of the city to the outskirts.  
  
A bullet whizzed past her ear and she winced a little at nearly being shot, looking over her shoulder at the lower pipes to see her brother drop back to help the pup from having slipped off the pipe, and she smiled before picking up the pace as she ran at the white wolf’s heels.  
  
With relief on most if not all the five’s part, they at last reached the outskirts and the high wall that steeply dropped onto a lower shelf of concrete.  
  
Nikki looked down as Hige and Kiba had dropped first and she looked back at the city, ignoring the caterwauling of the sirens that were so close as the chilled winds played with her hair, and she huffed.  
  
It was starting to feel like a cage anyway… and she hated cages.  
  
The she-wolf hopped off the ledge to land in a crouch near the two wolves, straightening to smile wryly at them. She looked up when a yelp came from the pup as said wolf dropped to land unceremoniously on his rear; rolling her eyes at her brother’s forcefulness, she looked up at said wolf who lingered on the ledge and called, "Tsume, hurry up!”  
  
“Are you scared?” Kiba asked the gray wolf as the winds calmed around them for a moment.  
  
Tsume smirked ruefully at the younger male’s jab, looking down at his sister who looked up at him with hopeful blue eyes, and he huffed. “You wish.” He hopped over the ledge.


	5. Tsuna

Snow billowed in the winds that howled outside their cave.  
  
For a moment Kiba looked away from the blizzard that began to die down, his eyes landing and resting on the lone she-wolf who sat against the cave wall only inches away. Her coat collar was high to protect her neck from the cold, however vainly that worked, and she had her eyes closed as if she were dozing.  
  
She hadn’t said a word about his bravery in standing up to her brother and, while his pride would've appreciated it, he found she seemed to gravitate to him like a moth to the flame.  
  
Again he was reminded that she truly _was_ an island, refusing to blindly obey or knuckle under, and some part of him admired her resolve.  
  
“H-hang on, howcome Kiba isn’t on the menu?” Toboe’s outburst drew both wolves from their respective reveries and back to the general conversation going on between the three males.  
  
Tsume sent a scathing look over at said male, “’cuz the guy’s full of crap. Don't bother askin' about my sister, either, she’s off limits to all three of you dumbasses.” He answered coolly.  
  
Another bitter breeze stole into the cave as green and amber stiffly locked to hold each other’s gaze.  
  
Nikki stood to stretch her legs and looked between the bristling males before scrubbing a hand over her face to gripe, “there’s too much testosterone in this pack…”  
  
Hige’s ever-keen nose shot into the air then, making the four look at him with mild surprise and curiosity, before he scrambled to his feet from having been seated at the back of the cave to rush out into the snow in search of whatever he had smelled.  
  
Nikki glanced up at Kiba and Tsume before she ran after the tan wolf with Toboe following, leaving the mentioned wolves to follow their leave to find the blizzard had in fact subsided.  
  
The four skidded to a halt when finding Hige stooped over a dead doe. It had been dead for a considerably short amount of time, preferably a week or less given the state of the carcass, and was still edible.  
  
Or as edible as “ _edible_ ” could get with five wolves that, even if a certain stubborn pair would never admit it, were hungry.  
  
“You’re seriously gonna eat that?” Tsume asked at large, somewhat repulsed and overall affronted at the lack of something more decent for them to eat.  
  
… Though he remembered, much to his chagrin, they weren't in the city anymore.  
  
“Aren’t _you?_ ” Hige retorted calmly before he dug into the provided meal, prompting Kiba, Toboe and Nikki to join in.  
  
Toboe commented after losing a leg bone to Hige through tug-of-war, causing said male to gloat about it for a few precious seconds before being whacked by Nikki in scolding, “it’s a little tougher than hamburger but it’s not half bad… c'mon, Tsume, you should eat up too! There’s no telling when we’ll get another meal where we’re going.”  
  
Tsume wrinkled his nose before scoffing and demanding of the pup, “’ _go where_ ’, to Paradise? You’re still on that?”  
  
“It’s either that or you go back to those cops that had no problem turnin' you into Swiss cheese.” Nikki remarked patiently around a mouthful of venison, giving him a mild look despite Kiba's frown shot at the older wolf, swallowing the meat as she added, “I personally wanna keep going.”  
  
“Just how far are you willing to let this jerk string you lot along…?” Tsume wondered as he sent another glare at the white wolf in question before huffing, “I can’t deal with you idiots.”  
  
“Aww, don’t be like that, Tsume!” Toboe pleaded if only to keep the peace between them, adding as he looked at the white wolf, “Kiba hasn’t even told us what Paradise looks like yet!”  
  
Hige piped up, “it’s a really beautiful place! There’s lots of flowers and meat everywhere… and lots of babes too… e-eh, not like _you’re_ not pretty too, princess!” He smiled cheesily at said she-wolf's deadpan expression.  
  
Nikki pinched his ear and ignored the yelp of pain from her friend, voice carrying a tone that sounded like her brother's, “quit fillin’ the pup’s head with lies, you lecherous ham…”  
  
“Um, Nikki, can’t you tell us about Paradise, too?” Toboe asked meekly, looking between the sulking Hige and the reproachful Nikki as Tsume rolled his eyes in the background and Kiba valiantly covered a snort of derision at the tan wolf’s bullshit.  
  
“I’ve never seen it before, but our mom used to say it was really beautiful and peaceful. And yeah, there's flowers there too, but no ‘ _hot babes_ ’ like this ham said…” Nikki answered honestly with a shrug, earning a bemused look from Kiba.  
  
“It sounds really amazing!” Toboe said brightly.  
  
“It’s still a puppy’s bedtime story.” Tsume pointed out, receiving a mild scowl from his sister and he added to her, “if you wanna follow this moron to whatever end then be my guest.” He turned to stalk off with his thumbs hooked in the pockets of his pants.  
  
“Tsume…” Toboe frowned at his leave and looked at Nikki for some measure of hope that she would make her sibling stay, but the she-wolf only picked at a bit of dirt under her left thumb. “Where’re you going?” He asked the older wolf.  
  
“To look for hell I guess!” Tsume replied over his shoulder.  
  
“Suit yourself.” Kiba’s calm voice made the older wolf pause as the remaining three looked at him, and his green eyes settled on the other's amber scowl that met his stare, adding in a dry tone, “just keep in mind that that set of rules you carry doesn’t mean a thing out here.”  
  
“It pisses me off when smug little asses like you talk like you’re right about everything when in retrospect you’re wrong.” Tsume snapped, lip curling as he regarded the other's hardened green stare before he continued on his way.  
  
“ _He_ ’s the only one actin’ like a kid around here, if y’ask me.” Hige muttered.  
  
Toboe slightly shook his head, “don’t say that, I like Tsume…” He ignored the mutually-incredulous look the white and black wolves sported, looking at the lattermost with a determined spark in his gold eyes, “I’ll bring him back, Nikki.” He assured before he took off after the gray wolf.  
  
Nikki watched him follow her brother’s leave and she felt a small smile pull at her lips as she nodded in his wake and mused more to herself, “well I’ll be damned.”

A content yawn escaped the black wolf as she stretched her arms to the skies, fingers spread as if she could catch handfuls of the enumerable stars that winked down. She then closed her hands only to look up at the pale moon above, feeling like it had been a hundred years since she had basked in actual moonlight if the ache in her bones was anything to go by.  
  
Green eyes soft at seeing her look so at ease, downright peaceful if one were to ask, the white wolf looked away from her once again to also look at the full moon.  
  
Why now, he wondered, why did he have the sudden urge to kiss her _now_ of all times? He knew she shared his sentiment, even if she argued it until the sun came up to then proceed to give him the silent treatment for a week. It was true enough that her virtually-impossible attitude drove him up a proverbial wall, and in spite of those things rationality chose to stick a pin in his proverbial bubble, pointing out that he had only known her for a month or so.  
  
And even despite that…  
  
“Y’know, I think we should ditch him. Tsume, I mean. It’s not like he wanted to come with in the first place.” Hige’s voiced thoughts pulled the white wolf from his observations of their she-wolf.  
  
Nikki opened an eye at his words and exhaled slightly as she contributed, “good point…”  
  
“I mean I know he’s your brother and all, Nik, and I’m sure you don’t mind him being here… but if y'think about it, it’s really circumstances that threw us together in the first place,” Hige paused slightly at remembering that said wolf’s sister was present.  
  
“I can handle having him around, his complaining aside… but he knows that I can take care of myself.” Nikki admitted, sitting up a little to hug her knees to keep from falling back and find interest in the scuffs on her boot toes.  
  
After all they had been through, how could he doubt her now?  
  
Kiba commented from his place at her right, “then the same goes for you, too, Hige.”  
  
“Yeah, but Tsume’s been giving me bad vibes since the start,” Hige remarked as he shot him a look.  
  
“He’s just different, that’s all. He’s always had someone to blame, and at the same time he’s had someone to watch his back… he’s pretty lucky if you ask me. Give him a break and he’ll come around.” Kiba calmly countered as he closed his eyes to resume quiet contemplation under the moonlight.  
  
Hige sat up and looked at his friend with mild exasperation, asking in the same tone, “all right, so what the hell’s up with you, anyway? You talk like you’ve got an answer for just about everything… what exactly happened to you before this?”  
  
Kiba’s eyes cracked open as melancholy filled his quieted voice, “nothing much… nothing much at all.” If only they knew…  
  
She frowned slightly and asked in a likewise-quiet voice, “Kiba, you okay?”  
  
Stirring at her question, he felt the curiosity in her gaze without having to look, and he nodded a little, "I’m fine.”  
  
Right, like she was going to believe that coming from _him_ of all people…  
  
Nikki wrinkled her nose a little before she jabbed her toe into his thigh, regarding his scowl shot in her direction as she reminded patiently, “y'know you don’t have to carry the world on your shoulders anymore… you've got a pack now.”  
  
Kiba’s scowl faltered at the reminder, feeling that she meant well even if she had to jab him to get him to see it… he quieted slightly and nodded again, “yeah, I know.”  
  
“Since when did _you_ turn soft?” Hige failed to stifle a bemused snort, having believed until now that he would never see Nikki openly show compassion to someone who wasn't her brother.  
  
Kiba shook his head when a small scuffle answered the tan wolf's question, looking between the old friends as Hige was pinned by a triumphant Nikki who sat on his back with his ear in her teeth and her tail wagging. He deadpanned and mused, “I could've warned you to not poke that particular bear.”  
  
Nikki tugged on the defeated wolf's ear in her grip and earned a slight yelp in return, at last releasing him to shift back and sit on her rear with a cheery grin, “thanks for not stealing the fun.”  
  
“I shoulda _known_ Tsume never taught you to play nice… I think you made me deaf in this ear,” Hige rubbed his ear and pouted at her.  
  
Kiba shook his head again, a bemused look crossing his face at the smug she-wolf, before smiling wryly.

A loud whirring sounded when the robot trained its guns at the bristling wolf.  
  
With a snarl, a streak of black launched itself at the machine from one of the ledges above, her teeth sinking into the metal and nearly tearing into it when the robot shook her off.  
  
Nikki landed nimbly between her brother and the robot with her teeth bared and her tail in the air, ignoring the angered commands behind her to run while she still could.  
  
A deafening howl stole into the night right then as a streak of white flew at the robot and diverted its attention from the siblings to him instead.  
  
‘ _Get him out of here!_ ’ Kiba ordered as he briefly looked at the she-wolf’s silver gaze before loping past the robot into the gorge at top speed, hearing it whirr before giving chase.  
  
“Tsume, up here!” Hige called from a few ledges above them as he sat with Toboe.  
  
Tsume steadily straightened and perked up when his sister hoisted his arm over her shoulders, looking at her to see she was looking up at the ledge where the other two were. He scowled slightly before they hopped up as she favored his bum leg. “Why’d you come back?” He demanded when they landed on one ledge lower than Hige and Toboe’s, shrugging off her arm with the scowl lingering on his brow.  
  
Nikki looked away from having listened to the machine firing round after round at Kiba’s heels further off down the ravine, meeting his hardened amber gaze with a shrug, “we’re still pack at the end of the day, regardless of whatever we argue about… even if you _are_ an asshat.” She chuckled a little.  
  
Tsume quieted at the simplicity of her response, half-wondering when she had become the voice of reason between them, looking elsewhere for a moment as they heard a shelf of ice and rock crash in the ravine, before he exhaled and mused wryly, “you’re almost as annoying as that boytoy of yours.”  
  
Cheeks turning rosy at his accursed assumptions, she felt her brow twitch before giving an indifferent scoff despite her lower lip sticking out in a pout, "no idea what you're referring to, jerkoff."  
  
His amber gaze softened at the defeat she tried to hide from her voice, lifting a hand to ruffle her straight hair and smirk when she shooed him off with a growl, "I don’t agree with it, namely 'cuz he's worse than you regarding that particular crap, but so long as he doesn’t lay a finger on you… I’ll live with it.” He admitted in a quieted voice.  
  
She blinked once, half-wondering if maybe she had misheard him or if he had gotten hit on the head in his tumble, before a smile crossed her lips and she tilted her head a bit, “like that would happen anyway… you _are_ the one who taught me about knife-work.”  
  
“It’s almost scary hearing how much of a hardass you are… _almost_.” Tsume rolled his eyes but smirked anyway, blinking when she threw her arms around his neck in a hug, calming with a slight sigh of defeat as he hugged back and grumbled, “my leg is killing me, by the way.”  
  
“That’s not my fault is it?” Nikki huffed as she drew away, smirking back and giggling softly when his lips pursed.  
  
The four wolves took a measure of relief when dawn came as their supposed leader came back to them once they were safely away from the ravine, the lattermost slightly favoring his leg as he came.  
  
“You okay?” Hige asked him.  
  
Kiba nodded slightly, “yeah, it’s just a scratch…”  
  
“ _The hell it is!_ ” A combat boot was chucked at his head and made him stagger slightly when the sole conked the top of his head.  
  
“Ow…” A vein twitched on his brow as he chucked the boot back at its owner and hopped to his feet. “What the hell that hurt, Nikki!” He shouted indignantly.  
  
“It _should_ hurt after that stunt you pulled, you overgrown dumbass!” Nikki shouted back as she slipped her boot on, glaring up at him, “I’m surprised anything could leave a dent on that thick skull of yours!”  
  
“Like _you’re_ one to talk, you’re worse than me!” Kiba argued, glaring back as he continued annoyedly, “I swear to the moon…”  
  
“ **Oi**!” Tsume’s shout silenced both ‘ _responsible_ ’ adults as he straightened a bit to scowl over at the odd pair and state sharply, “you’re both acting like an old married couple, it’s too damn early for that, and my leg is killing me! **Shut it** or I’ll do it **for** you!”  
  
Hige and Toboe, who had deadpanned at the couple’s antics moments before, simultaneously winced at the older wolf’s harsh tone.  
  
Kiba and Nikki looked at each other for one solid second before embarrassed heat colored their faces pink, and they broke stares to look elsewhere with a mutual scoff.  
  
Tsume’s shoulders slumped slightly in relief before he jerked a thumb in the direction their road led as he looked at her not-boyfriend, “now then, get your ass over here and let’s get moving, hotshot.”  
  
Kiba scowled slightly at the unofficial petname he had been baptized with, striding away to take point and start walking.  
  
Nikki looked at Toboe as he helped Tsume walk before she smiled softly and took her brother’s free side as they followed with Hige taking the tail of their ragtag pack.


	6. Gospel I

The cold winds played with her hair and nipped at her exposed cheeks and nose.  
  
She looked up at the bleak-skied afternoon as she briefly paused in walking after her companions, watching the clouds that threatened another snowfall move sluggishly, recalling the small respite they had had only days after the incident in the wasteland with a wry smile.  
  
‘ _So is Paradise really like_ Onee-chan _said?_ ’ The pup had asked their technical leader with hope in his gold eyes, only to be met with a placid sort of smile on the older wolf’s face.  
  
“The scent is faint, but it’s flowers all right,” Kiba's observation yanked her back to reality as he took a brief whiff of the winds.  
  
Toboe beamed, “then that means Paradise must be right ahead!” He broke into a run down the snowy hill, giving a slight yelp when his swift pace turned into a roll down the steep descent until he landed in a heap in the snowy bank below.  
  
Hige rolled his eyes, “typical pup.”  
  
Nikki smiled after the pup’s clumsy descent as she stepped away to bump her hip with his and send him after Toboe's lead with a yelp, shrugging innocently when Kiba and Tsume shared a bemused look at her gesture before she hopped down the hill to descend and land on her feet.  
  
“Pot calling the kettle black…” Tsume pinched the bridge of his nose before he shortly followed with Kiba taking the rear of their line.  
  
The five walked to the lone island in the middle of the lake across the stretch of railroad that had seen better days yet seemed to be in service, the wind continuing to nip at their faces and play with their hair.  
  
Nikki looked up from walking along the left-hand metal beam as she then caught the same scent of flowers that she, Hige, and Kiba had caught in the wasteland, "maybe we're on to something, after all…” she mused as she felt a tug in her chest at inhaling the scent.  
  
“Training to be an acrobat now?” Kiba asked as he looked up when overhearing her, watching her blink before her blue met his green.  
  
Lower lip jutting out for a moment before she looked away with a snort, asking coolly, "is the mighty alpha jealous because he’s not as graceful and nimble as I am?”  
  
He scoffed as an amused smirk crossed his handsome face and he asked casually with the roar of impulse gnawing at his normally-stoic front, “wouldn’t want you to fall, would we, princess?”  
  
“You wouldn’t dare,” she growled quietly, face paling a bit as it clicked, a warning in her lowered voice.  
  
He glanced back at her brother at the tail of their pack, looking away only to stick an arm out and shove on her hips. His push earned a yelp from her before she surprised him when she latched onto his arm, causing him to blink once before stiffening and slowly looking at the impish spark in her stare that met his. "… shit."  
  
With a bark she knocked him down as the two scuffled with yips and playful growls, before the white wolf found himself on the cold railway with his belly in the air and a triumphant she-wolf towering over him.  
  
Kiba growled up at her, the surmounting emotions regarding their island of a female teetering close to making something of his situation, scowling up at her silver eyes as she thundered a growl in return with her tail in the air.  
  
Nikki dropped the serious façade to lick his nose, a smug grin crossing her chops as her tail wagged and she hopped off him to shift back and land on two feet again. Her cheeks were flushed with the heat of playing and the cold as she laughed at his confused state and drawled, “I knew those teeth were only for show.”  
  
Kiba scrambled to his feet and shook the snow from his mop of hair, cheeks a pinkish-red at her toying with him, a most unamused look glued to his face, “ **start**. **running** ,” he bit out in a growl.  
  
Nikki grinned, sharpened canines showing in her smile, before she took off down the railway at a sprint with an irritated Kiba hot on her heels.  
  
“Bet you’re glad it was only that, ne, Tsume?” Hige laughed slightly at the display of puppyhood between their friends, rubbing his neck as he looked at the confused gray wolf.  
  
Tsume regained his composure and scoffed, thumbs hooking in his pockets, as he retorted flatly, “don’t make it disgusting, Porky.”  
  
“Um Tsume, what did Kiba chase _Onee-chan_ for…?” Toboe asked innocently between looking at the odd pair's wake and the remaining males.  
  
“Nikki’s a bit of an enigma sometimes, kid.” Tsume answered with a slight sigh, valiantly keeping from slapping his forehead at the combination of his sister's immaturity and the pup’s naiveté, following the odd couple at a calmer pace.  
  
Hige and Toboe shared a look before they jogged after the older wolf. 

Landing nimbly on the other side of the high wall, Kiba straightened to look at his companions that shortly followed his lead with the youngest landing clumsily as was his way. His gaze lingered on the lone female as she helped the pup to his feet before he looked away to the gray wolf who walked ahead of them down the alley, following his leave with the trio at his heels.  
  
_Sure seems dodgy enough if you ask me_ , the she-wolf thought as she acknowledged the shades being drawn and fleeting glances spared their way, proving to even a novice that these people didn't take to strangers.  
  
“Guess they’re not used to strangers?” Toboe thought aloud as he also looked at their otherwise-cold welcoming wagon.  
  
The tan wolf frowned, “obviously…”  
  
“What the hell kind of place is this? Must be _some_ Paradise…” The oldest sardonically muttered at the helm, knowing and choosing to ignore the mild look he earned from both his sister and her unofficial boyfriend.  
  
It seemed none of the five noticed the set of brown eyes observing their entrance into the dismal city from the rooftops.  
  
The five continued through the darkening streets for another half hour or so, the silent observer keeping them in sight all the while, before they came across the scent of something burning. No sooner did they shortly find a lit burn barrel in one alley’s alcove.  
  
A pack of a half-dozen men were huddled around the barrel for warmth, and just from a glance she could tell they had seen better days. Their own pack would’ve continued through the streets if the pudgy wolf didn’t stop at seeing there was a woman amongst the other pack's company.  
  
The other pack stopped in their quiet chatter amongst each other at hearing the foreign voice and simultaneously looked on the five younger faces as the alcove quieted. Even their watcher had stopped and perched on the high rooftop of the alcove to watch the scene.  
  
Nikki made a mental note to clock Hige for being such a big mouth, perking up a bit from standing between Tsume and Kiba when one man straightened amongst the other party, regarding the lanky man who looked older than Tsume and minded them with gold eyes and a vertical scar marring his left cheek.  
  
She was no fool… although they had scarcely come across other packs when she was a pup, she knew these men, the grayed alpha included, were like them.  
  
“Where’re you kids from?” Scar-face asked gruffly.  
  
“The city to the north.” Their leader answered, having shifted his weight to keep the other's focus on him and not their she-wolf.  
  
Scar-face huffed slightly and minded the younger alpha's attempt as he pressed, “what’re you doing here, then?”  
  
“Don’t expect us to be doing business in this dump of a city, do ya?” Her brother scoffed, hackles somewhat bristled at seeing what Kiba was doing.  
  
“So where’re you going?” Scar-face’s brow gave a twitch at the gray wolf’s comment.  
  
The pudgy wolf blinked once, “’ _Where’re we going’?_ ” He echoed.  
  
“To Paradise!” The pup answered proudly.  
  
The word seemed like a curse as the second party stiffened slightly at the pup’s answer, before their leader broke the moment of tension to start laughing, and soon his pack joined in. Their watcher, on the other hand, found the other pack’s bravado interesting moreso than funny… in comparison to _her_ pack's ridicule.  
  
Toboe frowned in confusion, “um, why’re they laughing…?”  
  
“Clearly because they don't know _shit_ about Paradise,” Nikki scoffed coolly as she broke her silence.  
  
The other party stiffened at the she-wolf’s remark as several sets of eyes locked on her; their watcher slightly tensed in place, wondering what would happen next.  
  
Her blue eyes gave off a steely glint despite the general exasperation shared between her alpha and her brother.  
  
“We know all about it.” Scar-face growled.  
  
Kiba glared at him.  
  
Tsume scoffed at that despite bristling in dislike towards the collective stink-eye meant for his sister.  
  
Also bristling, Nikki’s upper lip threatened to curl back.  
  
“It’s nothin’ but a stupid legend!” A second voice said from amidst the other party, and the younger wolves looked at a pudgy wolf with a fat snout.  
  
“ _’Legend’?_ ” Toboe repeated with curiosity even as his confused frown deepened.  
  
“That’s right, kid, there’s no such place as Paradise! What we saw wasn’t Paradise… it was really more like hell.” Fat-nose scoffed.  
  
Tsume scoffed again, “well _there_ 's a shock.”  
  
“Ya must be as blind as you look, then… Paradise is _real_ , and if a miserable pack of fleabags like you lot couldn't do the job then our pack is destined to find it.” Nikki promised stubbornly, glaring from the pudgy wolf to his alpha.  
  
_Damn_ , their watcher mused, refraining from voicing a low whistle, sending an awestruck look at the brazen she-wolf.  
  
Fat-nose smirked ruefully at the cocky female, regarding the younger males with her, “you brats oughta keep that whore in her place.”  
  
A growl settled in her throat as Nikki bared her teeth before purring with venom, “come over here and repeat that, why don't ya, if you've got the balls for it.”  
  
“Why you little…” Fat-nose growled out, straightening from his seat when the bristling female took a few steps forward.  
  
Like lightning, Kiba fisted a hand in her coat scruff and pulled her to his side, a growl of his own in his throat as he hissed in her ear, "there's too many of them!"  
  
"I'm just gonna gut the one, though." Nikki argued softly, eyes a metallic blue as they burned when she glanced up at him.  
  
“ **Enough**.” Scar-face snapped at his packmate, shooting him a look that made the other reluctantly back down. He glared at the irate she-wolf who was restrained by her alpha's grip on her coat, nodding to the younger male and suggesting testily, “you’ll find out soon enough. Why don’t you lot take your bitch and get lost… You _do_ have somewhere to go, don’t you?”  
  
Kiba glared back even as he reluctantly let go only to have Tsume usher the other's sister away and down the alley as he sent a final glare at the other party before following Hige and Toboe when the younger tugged on his arm to urge they leave. His ears burned when the other pack’s laughter echoed in their wake.  
  
He wasn’t blind to the other she-wolf who had been watching the scene play out from the alcove's rooftop, but the matter of _their_ she-wolf needed to be dealt with first.  
  
“ _I could’ve handled it!_ ” Nikki nearly exploded as she shoved away from her brother’s arm around her shoulders once they had put a good few blocks between their respective packs, glaring up at her brother’s stony face before shifting it to lock on the white wolf who had padded along behind them.  
  
Tsume folded his arms at his chest and reasoned, “like hell, there was too many of them for just _you_ to take on, and it woulda been a dumbass thing to do only because they called you names."  
  
True that he had been the one to teach her to defend herself long ago, but today was one of those days where he wished she _wasn’t_ such a hothead.  
  
Today was also another day where he didn’t know what the hell he was going to do with her.  
  
“Tsume’s right. You would've been outnumbered, and I for one didn’t want to watch your impulsive display get you killed,” Kiba put in between stuffing his hands into the pockets of his jacket, somewhat surprised at openly agreeing with Tsume.  
  
Nikki gave a growl and glared at the both of them, “I don’t even… y'know what, I’m not listening to **either** of you two jackasses. **You** because you’re such a damn hypocrite, and **you** for barking orders at me when you don’t own me! Until the both of you can stop trying to kill each other and let me breathe, don’t talk to me for the rest of the night!” She shouted as she flippantly gestured between Tsume and Kiba before twisting on her heel to stride off down the long and narrow alley with purpose.  
  
Toboe hesitated for a moment at seeing the somewhat dejected look that the mentioned pair sported, scampering off after the catty she-wolf to call, " _Onee-chan_ , wait up!”  
  
Hige kept his mouth shut for fear of getting the stink eye from either of them before he followed the brown and black wolves’ leave, “don't forget me, you two!”  
  
Kiba scrubbed a hand over his face and asked wearily, “does she always pull stunts like that?”  
  
“I’ve come to the conclusion that she got that from our dad,” Tsume mused blandly, not wanting to blame the younger male as he was just as exhausted with their she-wolf's temper, following the three at a calmer pace and hearing Kiba follow.

Wrinkling her nose in disgust after that man passed by her, she looked ahead and continued with a sniff. Even when she was a pup she hated when her father made deals with that slave-driver, and in the last several years her opinion had barely changed.  
  
“…Seeing those kids today reminded me of when you were younger, with that fire in their eyes,” the older she-wolf mused thoughtfully.  
  
Her significant other looked away when hearing the lighter footsteps of his pup coming to them, regarding the somewhat-disgruntled look on the younger woman's pretty face. He had to look twice, as he was wont to do now and then when she popped in on him, given he thought for a moment that it was her mother he saw.  
  
But it wasn’t, it was only his daughter, the youngest and incidentally the last of his five pups who was still around.  
  
“He still reeks of petroleum,” she huffed with a glance over her shoulder at where the human went. Minding the nostalgic look that crossed his face, she added as she sobered a bit, “they went near the cemetery, about a half-hour ago.”  
  
“And you would’ve been spotted if you’d tailed them into the graveyard,” he nodded along at knowing what would've happened if she had followed them, clearing his throat and adding, “good work, but you won’t need to keep on their tail from here on.” He cocked a brow at the surprised look that crossed her face.  
  
The gray wolf closed her mouth and scowled, “but Da, I can stay quiet and you know that! Yuri had entrusted his job to me if anything ever happened to him…”  
  
“Your father is only being protective, Erika, don’t take it personally,” her father's mate intervened patiently.  
  
Said she-wolf stiffened before bristling and snapping back, “go shake your tail somewhere else, _Cole_ …”  
  
“ _Eri_.” Her father snapped, making her flinch and slowly scowl up at him, ordering with some gentility, “you can go now.”  
  
Brown eyes narrowed into a hurt glare, she looked away with a growl and stormed past him, sharply clipping the shoulder of her father’s second-in-command as she went.  
  
“Can’t have your way all the time, brat!” the fat-nosed wolf called with a huff in her wake, smirking ruefully when she shot a rude hand gesture in response, looking at his alpha and chuckling, “she’s about as spiteful as that little bitch from earlier.”

“This place is givin’ me the creeps…” Toboe muttered as he hung back with Hige.  
  
Nikki glanced around at the old cemetery they had wandered into via Tsume’s lead and wrinkled her nose at smelling the antiquity of their surroundings just by looking at it, her lips pursed.  
  
She was still catty with both him and Kiba, having given the both of them the silent treatment and lingering closer to Hige and Toboe.  
  
She didn't give a rat's ass about being considered childish with them as it wasn’t _her_ fault they were in this shitty town.  
  
Toboe shot a nervous look at their surroundings as he half-expected the dead in their graves to leap out at him, commenting, “guys, I keep hearing something weird!”  
  
Tsume pinched the bridge of his nose before demanding in a short tone, “damn it, would you stop being afraid of everything?”  
  
Seconds later a grave yards infront of them burst up with dirt, causing the two younger males to yelp and jump simultaneously as their she-wolf also yelped before ducking behind her brother who was closest (and indirectly jumped at her yelp before composing himself in seconds).  
  
A grizzled old wolf with gray fur looked on the overall-spooked pack from his place in the grave.  
  
“H-hey gramps, what do you think you’re doing? Ya scared the crap outta us!” Hige barked.  
  
The old wolf blinked once before explaining calmly, “oh? I’m sorry, I was just digging a hole for myself.”  
  
“’ _A hole for yourself’?_ ” Toboe echoed.  
  
Kiba raised both brows and clarified, “you mean you were digging your own grave?”  
  
“Well when you get to my age, you begin to recognize when your time is coming,” Gramps answered simply.  
  
Tsume snorted slightly, “then maybe you should dig a little faster… Ow.” He winced when being slugged in scolding by his sister, rubbing his arm gingerly as he scowled at her.  
  
“I thought I was a goner too…” Toboe mumbled.  
  
Nikki slightly shook her head and took a step closer to their elder, “sorry Gramps, but do you know if there are any lunar flowers in this city?” She asked politely, seeming to throw three of the four males with her off guard and chose to ignore them.  
  
The old man’s face lit up at that and he replied with a grand gesture of his arms, “the flower bed that goes on forever!”  
  
Both Kiba and Nikki perked up in surprise.  
  
“Long, long ago, flowers bloomed all over this island. But then one day they were dug up, and now there isn’t a single petal left.” Gramps explained in a sad tone.  
  
“That doesn’t explain the scent…” Nikki mumbled as she looked off at the rest of the cemetery.  
  
“Can you tell us what color the flowers were?” Toboe asked.  
  
Gramps smiled, “oh… well, they were the color of the moon!”  
  
“And what about Paradise, have you ever been _there?_ ” Tsume asked if only to humor the old man.  
  
“Well every wolf goes off in search of it at one point in their lives; I went to try and find it myself once.” Gramps replied calmly.  
  
Toboe asked out of curiosity, “what’d you do?”  
  
Once getting out of the grave he’d dug, Gramps led the five away from the clustered grave markers to a more secluded part of the cemetery where two aged trees marked the unused storm drain that was boarded up.  
  
“That’s the entrance over there,” Gramps said as he pointed at the storm drain.  
  
Hige covered his nose with his sleeve, “yech it reeks, smells like death warmed over!”  
  
“And here I thought it would smell nice…” Toboe lamented.  
  
Nikki covered her nose with a hand, gaze curious as she watched Kiba step closer to the storm drain.  
  
“I wouldn’t if I were you. There’ve been many young wolves that have set out through there, but sadly none of them ever reached Paradise; the ones who came back have made what life they can here like the rest of us.” Gramps advised with the sad tone returning.  
  
Nikki bristled when feeling eyes on her, both she and Kiba looked back to see Scar-face standing yards away from them.  
  
“Alright Gramps, that’s enough for today. Don’t forget that there’s work to be done tomorrow,” Scar-face advised the old wolf.  
  
“I see… well, I’ve dug it deep enough.” Gramps nodded before he stepped away from the young wolves to heed his alpha’s advice.  
  
Kiba looked at the older wolves and asked the scarred wolf, “hang on, when you and your pack tried to get to Paradise, did you use this path?”  
  
“I thought I told you Paradise doesn’t exist.” Scar-face replied flatly.  
  
“Zoli…” Gramps began as he looked at his leader.  
  
The newly-christened Zoli glared at the younger wolves, “if you brats disturb the peace of my pack in any way, I’ll show no mercy. Now get out of town, is that clear?” He ordered, turning away to lead Gramps away and back to the lonely city.  
  
Nikki’s lip curled and she spat in his wake, huffing, “wrinkled old bastard, thinkin' he can order us around…”  
  
“Can’t stay calm for _one second_ , can you?” Kiba guessed as he gave her a knowing look.  
  
Nikki considered opening her mouth but instead turned her head away, gave a ‘ _humph_ ’ and strode away with her tail in the air, leading the way in the direction of a mausoleum she had spotted earlier.  
  
Tsume exhaled patiently as he shortly followed her lead, Toboe and Hige at his heels with Kiba at the tail.  
  
“So do you still believe in it?” Tsume asked their leader when they had found the mausoleum she had spotted and took a moment’s respite in the run-down shelter.  
  
“ _’Believe in_ ’ what?” Kiba glanced back at him.  
  
Tsume clarified, “Paradise… they said they’d been there, but apparently there’s no such place.”  
  
“What they found obviously wasn’t Paradise.” Kiba replied blandly.  
  
“I swear I don’t know where you get your confidence from… must be from wherever my sister got hers.” Tsume scoffed in disbelief before sobering and adding with a scowl, “anyway, you know there’s no such place so there’s no guarantee that we’d ever make it there… We’d be stupid to keep going!”  
  
Nikki exhaled, disliking that his big mouth was running yet again, and looked at her brother to state dryly, “those mutts wouldn't know a good thing if it bit them in the ass, and besides, I smelled flowers here, too. I wanna find out what it is they're hiding, dear brother, 'cuz it's not the rations they keep to themselves.”  
  
Toboe agreed knowingly, “you guys are only making yourselves hungrier when you get angry, and besides, Nikki’s right.”  
  
“Maybe we should start digging holes and living in the gutter like that old man.” Tsume contemplated, huffing and relaxing on the nearby pile of rubble.  
  
Gaze lingering on the she-wolf who refused to look his way, Kiba looked off at the darkened cemetery beyond them as he stated, “it’s not confidence… I’m not sure what it is, but I know it’s there, screaming inside me. I have to know… that’s the only reason I’ve kept going for so long. I can’t imagine living without believing in it.”  
  
Nikki glanced up at him as she listened to his words, blinking once in surprise when Hige sat up from his place lounging with Toboe to look off at one corner of the mausoleum that was caved in. She followed his gaze to recognize the woman from earlier as she came into the light, frowning a bit in suspicion.  
  
“You kids must be starving.” The woman said with a serene smile on her pretty face.  
  
Hige scrambled to grovel up to her like a hungry puppy, oblivious to the younger she-wolf's mild exasperation. “Yes, yes we are; you’re so generous!” He said chirpily.  
  
Kiba spared the woman a brief look before he stepped out into the cold. For sake of her sanity, Nikki followed him out when he took his leave, giving a half-sigh as she went.

Curiosity had always been her curse, since she was a cub… Still, he didn’t have to remind her about it nearly every day of her life.  
  
The she-wolf purposefully kicked the pebble along, huffing at his words that nagged her. _Seriously, doesn’t he know that I know that? He thinks just because of what happened years ago that I’m gonna jump to my death or something drastic like that_ … she wrinkled her nose at the idea, looking up when a howl sounded in the cold night.  
  
The pack had split up since Cole had gone and done her “ _missionary work_ ” a couple of hours ago now, their alpha and his presumed mate being first to leave the ruined mausoleum they had taken shelter in, and the gray wolf and what she assumed was his little brother had returned to the city to wind up at the train station. The tan wolf, a pudgy flirt from what she could guess, had taken Cole’s bait with ease.  
  
Still, what that she-wolf had said in the alcove had made her mind race ever since.  
  
If Paradise was real, truly honest-to-the-moon real, then why did her brothers and the other wolves have to die in the tunnels?  
  
The she-wolf stopped walking, recognizing the numbing melancholy the memory of that day brought out in her and shook her head before looking up again as the howl sounded closer to recognize her wandering feet had brought her to the train station.  
  
It was a few hours till sunrise, and blessedly she didn’t have to work when asked to spy on visitors.  
  
“I must be nuts,” she muttered, ascending the front stairs of the station entrance.  
  
The station was quiet, silent as a ghost-town, and she found the gray and brown wolves with ease as they were in the small lobby. She perked up a bit when first being spotted by the pup before his older companion looked up to see what had caught his attention, calming and asking as she stepped up to them, “you guys weren’t waiting long, were you?”  
  
“We just got here, or at least it feels like it…” The brunette pup replied, offering a sheepish smile that she found cute, the four silver bangles on his wrist jingling when he rubbed his neck. “Um, do you live here?” He asked.  
  
She smiled wryly and shrugged, answering, “I guess you could say that. My father kind of dragged me here, like a year ago…”  
  
“Sounds like he picked the wrong place to raise a brat, if you ask me,” the gray wolf interrupted calmly as he had relaxed on the bench when seeing the runt was okay.  
  
“Come on, Tsume, don’t be like that…” the pup chided with a look back at his companion.  
  
Her smile faltered and she replied rather defensively, “it’s not so bad once you get used to it, y’know.”  
  
The pup put in before his companion could rebut, “I’m sorry he said that, he’s just grumpy because we haven’t eaten anything in a while… I’m Toboe, by the way, and that’s Tsume. What’s your name?” He introduced, catching her by surprise for a moment.  
  
“It’s Erika, but everyone calls me ‘ _Eri_ ’… easier to remember.” The she-wolf smiled slightly, glancing behind the christened pup to his companion and recognizing that he was sore about something.  
  
Probably about getting yelled at by their she-wolf.

He could only fathom that she had followed his leave to avoid being in the same room with Hige who had no problem showing his belly to the first pretty face that came his way with a smile and a basket of food. Her true reason was otherwise an enigma.  
  
She was still giving him the silent treatment, too.  
  
Again he was witness to her tenacity, granted the longer she was around him, the more she showed a softer side of herself that was otherwise hidden away behind that façade she'd built up for years.  
  
Kiba inhaled as he looked over at her from their seat on a ledge of concrete that once seemed to serve as a jetty.  
  
They had walked in silence around the outskirts of the city and she was first to stop walking when they found the jetty, letting her legs dangle over the ledge. It was only because of those wolves she had pissed off that he had lingered to sit with her. He trusted her to not get in trouble, ironically, but he didn't feel right leaving her on her own in this city.  
  
Nikki watched the stars blink down at them from their place in the heavens, for a moment almost forgetting about being peeved with the wolf at her left as his earlier statement about Paradise had given her chills. No matter what she did, they didn't go away.  
  
She refused to believe he didn't abandon her out of chivalry, or some reason that only he was aware of, given she took pride in her capability to kick ass… he didn’t need to worry about her but regardless, he did.  
  
Damn was he stubborn… but, even if she would probably never admit it, she liked that about him.  
  
It made arguing with him way more fun, and of course he didn't help his case when he made that face at her stumping him, which happened rather regularly in the last count of weeks, the way his brow crinkled and his lips shifted into that pout. Now that she thought on it, his green eyes even looked like they had specks of ice…  
  
Damn it, why was she getting giddy over him? He was just another wolf, he was her friend, he was Kiba.  
  
_Her Kiba_ …  
  
"You're still bullheaded." He observed more to himself, causing her ears to twitch as he broke the silence between them, seeming to surprise her for a moment.  
  
Regaining her composure in seconds, a trick she had learned from her brother, she nodded her head a bit before remarking quietly, "it's not to prove anything to an idiot like you, y'know. I'm only bullheaded because I had to be…"  
  
"Because the world would eat you alive if you weren't as tough as you are." Kiba guessed in the same tone, having looked away to the cold waters past them before looking to her with a knowing lift of his brow, the left corner of his mouth starting to quirk up into a smirk at the faintest flush in her cheeks, "I get it, maybe more than I wish I didn't."  
  
"That last night in the wasteland, you had a weird look on your face. Like if you were sad about something you had seen, or done for all I know," Nikki said, curiosity weighing on her calm tone, looking at him again as he sobered and kicked his legs a bit, shrugging, "I'm not askin' you to spill every dirty secret you have, but I… I didn't like that look. It didn't fit you."  
  
True she liked stumping him when they argued, but to say she loved seeing him scowl and frown instead of smile or laugh? No, she couldn't bring herself to like or much less get used to that.  
  
Eyes soft at her confession, Kiba let out a shallow exhale and half-wondered, "I can't get anything past your sharp eyes, can I?" Although her seeing past his front deflated his pride by a smidge, he would admit he was glad it was only her who saw that. She had thrown him off guard since day one and, ever since then, he knew he was in trouble.  
  
Smiling ruefully as she acknowledged that he had worn down her earlier disgruntlement, Nikki elbowed his arm and teased, "ironic you just now realize that…" His lips finding hers cut her off, then, surprising her.  
  
Kiba adopted her rueful smile as he drew back from having ducked his head a bit, cocking a brow at the strange innocence in her eyes, "I'd rather you be bullheaded, in all fairness." He offered nonchalantly.  
  
Cheeks rosy at his break, Nikki curled her fingers in his shirt collar and returned the kiss, a giggle brewing in her throat when his arm found the small of her back and he reciprocated eagerly before the giggle was replaced with a soft groan.  
  
Ears tingling at the noise she made, Kiba let her draw away to breathe as he did the same, eyes warm and proud at her softened face. He brushed locks from her cheek and smiled when she bumped foreheads with him, causing his fingers in her hair to drift to cup her cheek.  
  
Nikki kept his hand to her cheek, cheeks rosy again as warmth stole into the pit of her belly when regarding the proud brightening of his green eyes, stealing a soft kiss before drawing back a bit and grinning as his stumped expression crossed his face. "Sweet puppy," she sang softly.  
  
"Tough princess…" Kiba returned dryly, giving a slight exhale and offering with reluctance, "guess we should keep moving, right?"  
  
"Yeah, I guess," she mused with likewise reluctance, letting him detangle from her to get to his feet, giving a slight squeak when he pulled her up as well and looking up at him with a soft smirk before stepping away to start them off.  
  
He traipsed after her until taking her hand in his as he went to her right, glancing down at her hand that squeezed his, regarding the soft look lingering on her tanned face that turned away from looking up at him.  
  
“You two lovebirds shouldn’t be waltzing around!” A voice said when they passed a familiar alcove what felt like hours later, and the couple looked over at the pack of four or five that stood around the burn barrel that was lit again.  
  
Bristling a bit at their unwanted company, Nikki sniffed and looked elsewhere to lead him away by the hand, urging quietly, “come on…”  
  
Her instincts coupled with impulsiveness demanded she put those mongrels in their place, but she chose to ignore both so as to avoid getting chewed out by Tsume.  
  
“Should move with your pack!” Another wolf said before they started laughing at the joke.  
  
Kiba exhaled shortly and stopped at that, causing her to stop as well, scowling over at the pack as he retorted, "what’re you lot doing, anyway, standing around without a purpose?”  
  
“What’d you say?” Fat-nose demanded, being among the five much to her chagrin, as he looked over at the two.  
  
Nikki internally groaned at his provoking the other wolves, outwardly agreeing with him, “only worthless dogs like you lot would be tossed out into the cold.”  
  
Fat-nose growled and was first to step away from the burn barrel as his beady eyes locked on her, “ya smart-mouthed little bitch…”  
  
A growl rumbled in Kiba’s chest as Nikki shifted to cover his side when the five wolves circled them, and with a short bark the two parties clashed, causing fur to fly.  
  
One wolf yelped sharply in pain when she ripped into his side before he was driven away with his tail between his legs.  
  
The black wolf rounded on the second one and kicked him away so he hit a nearby dumpster back-first, giving a yelp when the third wolf snatched her scruff in his jaws and threw her away with a snarl.  
  
‘ _ **No**!_’ The white wolf snarled between cowing one of the last two wolves he had taken on, kicking him away to lunge for Fat-nose who had advanced on her, when he was knocked aside by the wolf he had snapped at.  
  
Nikki rolled to her feet to circle Fat-nose who mirrored her, teeth bared angrily, before she snarled when he charged. She sidestepped him only to sharply headbutt him in the ribs and knock him back so he hit the cold ground on his side.  
  
Fat-nose growled as he tried to get up before the she-wolf threw herself at him and stomped both front paws on his thick neck, glowering up at her burning silver eyes, wheezing, ' _y-you damn bitch_ …'  
  
' _That's head bitch to you, lapdog. Leave my boys alone,_ ' Nikki growled lowly in return.  
  
' _Let's go,_ ' Kiba growled as he had sent the last of the pack scampering off into the dark, glowering at Fat-nose as she drew away to leave at a run, shortly following her leave.  
  
Once they put enough distance between Fat-nose and themselves, she relaxed when they found a lonely alley and shifted to sigh loudly in relief.  
  
Having also shifted, he regarded the scratches and scrapes they both shared from the fight before giving a low chuckle. "You alright?" He asked.  
  
She also minded their figurative battle scars and nodded, stepping up to him to wipe a smudge of dirt from his nose, giggling softly when his nose wrinkled at her gesture. "That's better," she mused, her grin from earlier returning when his arms found her waist and he pulled her to him.  
  
His green eyes were warm when her face softened again and her arms lifted to hug his neck, ducking a little to kiss her when a loud howl sounded then and disrupted what measure of a moment they had.  
  
"Toboe," she began with concern, looking from where the howl originated to his pale sobered face.  
  
Reluctantly letting go of her save one hand, he nodded, "c'mon, something's up." He gave her captive hand a squeeze before leading the way to the train station only blocks away from their alley.

The pup perked up when Zoli’s attention was drawn away from the spectacle, looking at where his gaze went. “Guys, look!” He declared, making the three look off at the new arrivals.  
  
The white wolf looked from the humans with whips on hand to the wolves hooked to the sled carrying the crates of supplies. Blood boiling, he broke away to race for the humans at top speed with a snarl before a heavier body dropped ontop of him, snarling louder as he squirmed against the older alpha that was trying to pin and restrain him.  
  
A thundering growl ripped into the air as a streak of black knocked the older alpha off her companion, both gray and black wolves rolling away.  
  
The enraged she-wolf quickly took those few seconds the older wolf used to regain himself to jump on his back and sink her teeth and claws into him as he snarled and bucked and tried to get her off. ‘ _Leave him be!_ ’ She angrily growled between the dark gray fur in her mouth.  
  
Zoli ran for the nearest concrete wall on the side of the ramp and slammed his left side into the concrete, hearing a pained yelp escape the she-wolf who fell from his back and crumpled to the floor. He glowered at the dizzy female before being sideswiped from the left by Kiba as the lattermost kept him from hurting her further.  
  
Nikki felt her head spin as she shook it and steadily got to her feet, stiffening when a muzzle nudged her cheek from the right, and looked into the familiar gold eyes of her brother. She leaned her head against his cheek and whined a little, ‘ _Tsume_ …’  
  
Tsume held her close and was mindful of her probably-bruised back, looking off at Zoli and Kiba with hardened eyes.


	7. Gospel II

A hiss escaped from between her teeth, “damn it…”  
  
“I told you to keep still…’s not like this is easy for me, either.” He scolded impatiently, hearing her give a ‘ _humph_ ’ and clam up as he finished winding the wrappings around her bruised back.  
  
She gingerly straightened to pull her gray tank down, looking for her coat only for it to be offered by her brother; a scowl crossed her face as she snatched it from his hand and shrugged it over her shoulders, “thanks.”  
  
He had been less of an asshat for most of the morning, something she took heart in, but his quiet demeanor left her on eggshells as she waited for the lecture.  
  
He wasn’t their father but, when she got in trouble, he didn’t hesitate to lecture her for whatever slip-up had happened… he was the typical big brother that way.  
  
Hige and Toboe had been shooed out of the mausoleum minutes ago to go find some food and or herbs on the pup’s part as he wanted to help the couple who were still recovering from the respective scuffles with the other pack. And to put the cherry on the proverbial cake, Tsume was left in charge as the pupsitter.  
  
Kiba looked up at her as she sat with him, slightly straightening in his slouching position only to regret it as his back protested the motion, and he calmed when she reached to stroke his cheek. Blue met green and he smiled wryly, holding her hand there as he mused to her, “you look like crap.”  
  
Nikki pouted slightly before pinching his cheek, giggling in return, "you're hardly one to talk, y'know."  
  
Despite his knee-jerk sense of nausea towards romantic mush happening infront of him, Tsume would admit it was nice to see her brighten up again… it had been a long time since she looked happy. Shoving the melancholy to the back of his mind where it belonged, he folded his arms at his chest and reminded them both, “y’know it’s not over just yet.”  
  
“Those dogs don't deserve any respect if y'ask me, especially Zoli… what kind of wolf can live like that, anyway, scrounging for scraps and being reduced to a lapdog?” Nikki remarked before her lip curled at the thought of being a human’s pet.  
  
She would **never** let that happen to herself, even less to the boys. They had only been traveling together for the last month or two, and maybe it was because most of her pack had been taken from her, but Hige and Toboe were important to her, too.  
  
“We did what we had to do when we lived in the dome, Nikki.” Except for the lapdog part. Tsume scowled at her and continued when she started to retort, “And if I'm not mistaken, **I** wasn’t the one who pissed off those dogs we could’ve just as easily left alone so we wouldn’t still **be** in this craptastic place.” He shot a look at Kiba who had glanced at her from looking up at him.  
  
“I didn't see _you_ do shit about it, so _someone_ had to, Tsume! I won’t knuckle under just to please a pack of dogs who've sold their souls.” Nikki snapped as she straightened to glare at him, hackles bristling despite her ribs aching at the hasty movement.  
  
“You forget I _know_ you, baby sister, and I know they weren’t the _only_ reason you jumped their alpha.” Tsume argued bitingly as his gaze shifted to land on the quieter male.  
  
Nikki’s mouth curled into a snarl closed shut at his observations, and she glanced away with a sniff before wondering, "so?"  
  
“It wasn’t her fault,” Kiba cut in when Tsume's mouth opened, earning a somewhat-surprised look from her, continuing, “Nikki stepped in to defend me, and because we were both pissed at what Zoli did… we had to do something.” He steadily got to his feet and slightly shook his head when she moved to help him up, standing tall before her brother.  
  
“Next time you wanna act like a hero, _don’t_ drag her into it. I don’t care about whatever-the-hell happened between you two last night, but if you rope her into another stupid if not more worse situation, I’ll kick your ass. Got it?” Tsume said as he ignored the look from his sister and stepped up to their supposed leader.  
  
Kiba nodded in compliance and moreso for her sake, acknowledging the exasperated glance in her eyes meant for the both of them and a wry smile crossed his lips as he mused, "I wouldn't blame you if you did… she's worth it.”  
  
Nikki gave a short exhale despite the soft look she shot him with, “I’d punch you if you weren’t still recovering…” she earned a sniff from her brother before tossing the younger alpha’s white shirt to said wolf and adding, “as much of a tough guy as you are, y’look cold.”  
  
_Same old Nikki_ , Tsume thought as he padded away to resume his place at the door. “Y’know, you two are almost as nauseating as you usually are…” he mused before trailing off when they heard someone approaching the mausoleum. Bristling as he recognized who it was, he ignored his sister’s question to shift his footing to block the doorway.  
  
A slight yelp came from the gray wolf when she ran face-first into his chest and stumbled back, rubbing her nose gingerly. “O-ow… watch it!” She barked, looking up through one eye at the gray wolf and relaxing a bit, "oh it's just you… Tsume, right?”  
  
“What the hell’re you _doin'_ here, brat? I’d figure your alpha told you lot to steer clear of us,” Tsume demanded with a suspicious scowl, keeping his arms folded at his chest as he refused to let her get close to his sister.  
  
Eri tried not to wince at the thought of what had happened at the station, also folding her arms as she replied coolly, “he did, but there's this thing called ‘ _selective hearing_ ’… I imagine you know enough of that.”  
  
“I thought making new friends who weren’t human was beneath you, Tsume…” Nikki commented as she approached the two with her coat shrugged on her shoulders, looking to the younger she-wolf and smiling apologetically as she added, “sorry about him, he’s just bein’ an ass. I didn’t know there were other she-wolves on this island.”  
  
Eri smirked briefly when the other she-wolf smacked her brother’s arm to have him let her in with reluctance, pretending the mentioned wolf wasn't glaring daggers at her back. “Yeah, well, my dad's kinda overprotective… I saw what happened at the station and came to see if you needed anything,” she explained, looking from the black wolf to her mate who looked as banged-up as her, and averted her gaze like a coward when his green eyes met her brown.  
  
“Well we _don’t_ , least of all from _you_.” Tsume stated firmly, ignoring the scowl from his sister as he also eyed the younger wolf before nodding his head at the doorway, “ya prolly won’t catch too much heat from your old man if you leave now.”  
  
Eri bristled slightly and scowled at his brush off, “don’t act so stubborn, I know you need help; if not for you then for your sister…”  
  
“Leave her out of this, brat.” Tsume growled back, also bristling as amber clashed with brown.  
  
“You don’t really look like him, y’know,” both gray wolves looked to the white wolf who had straightened while shrugging his jacket back on. He added pensively, “but I gotta admit it’s weird for someone like you to help out another pack.”  
  
Nikki pondered for a moment on his statement before it clicked, and she nodded a bit to then smile and say, “I think it’s sweet… I didn’t catch your name, though.”  
  
“E-eh, right… it’s Eri,” Eri slightly shook her head before returning the smile, surprised for a moment that the other female wasn’t hostile towards her like she was towards her father. “Um, I heard what you said the other day, about Paradise… are you serious about going there?”  
  
What was she doing, asking **that** of all things? She had believed, since that day, that Paradise wasn’t real and that it was unreachable by all rights.  
  
_It was just an imaginary place… right?_  
  
Also pushing her arms through the sleeves of her coat, Nikki paused to blink once at the question before replying calmly, “yeah, 'course. Our mother,” she slightly nodded to her sibling, “always told me it existed, and I… well, I believe her and I’m going to find out for myself.” Her gaze softened a bit at catching the hesitant yet excited look that the younger wolf sported.  
  
“You should come with us, if you’re that curious about it,” Kiba put in calmly, having also caught the same look before he nodded to the black wolf and added, “I’m sure Nikki wouldn’t mind having another girl around.”  
  
Nikki felt her ears warm up and she gently ribbed him, “since when did _you_ read minds…?”  
  
“You can’t be _serious_ …” Tsume started with a scoff in disbelief at what was transpiring.  
  
Eri spoke up, “I would, I really would especially since you're both being so nice and it sounds like fun, but my father…” she trailed off when the brown pup suddenly dashed into the mausoleum and brought his feet to a halt, surprising the four of them. “Toboe?”  
  
“Kiba, are you two okay now?” Toboe asked their leader.  
  
Kiba nodded and replied, “yeah, we’re fine… Sorry.”  
  
“W-wait, you're here too, Eri? What’s going on?” Toboe asked with a surprised look at seeing the other she-wolf.  
  
Tsume cut in, “where’s Porky?”  
  
Toboe gulped slightly and answered, “that’s the problem; he got caught in a big trap, and the humans took him away somewhere!”  
  
“All he has to do is trick the humans who caught him and he’s home free,” Nikki offered, cocking a brow at the grim look that graced Eri’s face at the news.  
  
Toboe shook his head, “yeah but he was knocked out by those other wolves, the ones that live here!”  
  
Tsume grumbled an oath before scowling at the pup and demanding, “why the hell would they do that…? And why didn’t you let us know by howling? You should’ve followed them!”  
  
“Good point… wait, Eri, where’re you going?” Toboe perked up as the named wolf then left the mausoleum and Nikki shortly followed, “ _O-onee-chan_ , you guys shouldn’t move so much!” He added worriedly as Kiba was on her heels.  
  
Nikki scoffed even as she paused at the pup’s words, “I’ve got enough strength to move, at least enough to kill that oversized tick,” she replied lightly before looking at the white wolf and asking, “can you run?”  
  
Kiba nodded and afforded a small smile of confirmation, “let’s go.” He followed Eri's lead with Nikki at his side and heard Toboe at their heels as Tsume brought up the rear.  
  
Tsume refrained from slapping his forehead when seeing their fearless leader limp moreso than run, and an idea came to mind as he griped, "this’ll take forever…!”  
  
“H-hey, Tsume!” Kiba barked in surprise when the named wolf rushed up to hoist him over his shoulder.  
  
“C'mon, I know who can tell us where they took him,” Eri declared as she paused to look back at them before earning a curt nod from Nikki, turning to sprint towards the city.

The five wolves raced through the streets before the white wolf said he could walk on his own and therein made them stop so the gray wolf could let him down.  
  
The younger she-wolf’s ears perked as both she and the white wolf were first to spot the same woman from the night before who walked into an alley yards away, and the five jogged to catch up.  
  
Four of the male wolves from the night before perked up at seeing their female had been followed, and one of the lankier wolves scoffed at the sight of the younger wolves, “guess last night’s beating didn’t sink in well, did it, lovebirds?” Their amusement was gone seconds later when recognizing the second she-wolf and the same lankier wolf demanded, “what the hell’re you doin’ with _them_ , Erika?”  
  
“You know these guys, Eri?” Toboe asked as everyone looked to the named she-wolf.  
  
Eri ignored his question, stepping forward, “what’d you do with the tan wolf who’s traveling with them, Jed? Where’s Moss?” She demanded.  
  
It was only a matter of time before they realized whose daughter she was.  
  
“Like we’d tell _you_ … Even if Zoli _is_ your old man, ya can’t go ordering us around, brat,” the christened wolf sneered as he came forward.  
  
“Erika, we strictly told you to not get involved with them…” Cole spoke up this time with a reproving look on her pretty face.  
  
Eri bristled and growled back, “I know! Da may be your mate but _you’re_ not my mother, Cole, so don’t nag my ears off, okay?” She respected her step-mother best she could, most days, but this wasn’t the time or place. She asked with some measure of patience, “I’m gonna ask again, what did you do with their friend?”  
  
She didn’t look much like her father, except when she was pissed, Tsume recognized, raising a brow as the other wolves stiffened and looked past them, making him look to regard the older alpha had walked into the alley.  
  
“Zoli?” Cole perked up.  
  
“Da…” Eri began with some hurt before she demanded, “Da, what did you _do_?”  
  
“ _You_ ordered this, then?” Tsume demanded of the older alpha.  
  
Zoli scowled at him, “ _’ordered_ ’ what, what’re you talking about?”  
  
“You _sold our friend_ to those disgusting humans, didn’t you?” Nikki asked with venom as she glared back.  
  
“He said for them to kill him, I heard him!” Toboe supplied as he pointed at the stout wolf.  
  
“ **Moss**!” Zoli growled out in annoyance as he put two and two together.  
  
Nikki broke away to jump the named wolf, hearing him snarl when she pinned him to the ground, to which she thundered a louder snarl in return, ‘ _you miserable sneaking sunnuva_ …’  
  
A loud growl rang out as another set of teeth yanked on her scruff to throw her off of Moss, making her yelp slightly.  
  
Zoli glared at her when she bared her teeth out of anger before he looked away to slug his disobedient packmate in the jaw, snapping at her, "this is **my** pack!" He earned a cold look from her as she straightened, turning his anger on the cowed wolf and demanding just as coldly, "why the hell did you sell out their friend, Moss?”  
  
“He’s an outsider, that’s why, like that pathetic bitch back there.” Moss scoffed as he rubbed his jaw, earning a growl from said female who was restrained by her brother's grip on her arm, nodding at the younger gray wolf, “but _neither of ‘em_ are as backstabbing as _your_ spoiled brat! She disobeyed the pack…”  
  
“Go to hell, Moss!” Eri bit out in her defense, adding with disgust, “if anyone's gonna betray our pack, it's obviously _you!_ ”  
  
The second chubby wolf looked to his alpha, “it don't matter, though, considerin' the apple don’t fall very far from the tree, right Zoli? You've been sellin' your friends out, too, and don’t play dumb; you don’t even do a dog’s work!”  
  
Zoli glared at the main perpetrator as he asked his packmates in a quieted voice, “is that how you really feel?” He looked elsewhere before looking over at his pup, “I thought I was doing the right thing for the pack, so long as my feelings didn’t get in the way. Everything I did, I did for the pack, for my daughter.”  
  
“Da…” Eri looked at him with surprise, eyes widened before sombering as she understood.  
  
“Well none of us see you as the leader anymore!” Moss declared as he decked him and knocked him down so he and the other three wolves began beating him.  
  
“ **No**!” Eri cried as she made to help her father before a firm hand grabbed the hood of her yellow parka from behind, and she looked up at the gray wolf as frustrated tears welled and blurred the corners of her vision, her voice cracking, “T-Tsume…”  
  
Tsume minded the quiet whimper from her as she looked away and let the tears fall, regarding the scene with disgust.  
  
Kiba looked at Nikki as she winced when Cole demanded they stop beating the older alpha, meeting her blue eyes that held a measure of disgust and pity for the other alpha.  
  
Nikki glared after Moss as he and his friends fled the alley, stepping up to the beaten wolf as Eri was first to his side while Cole helped him up, asking quietly, “where do you think they took him?”  
  
“They loaded him on an orange truck,” Toboe answered, earning a glance from both younger females.  
  
Zoli regarded the young quartet through one eye that wasn’t as swollen as the other and advised wryly, “if you’re thinking of giving up on Paradise, now would be the time.”  
  
“I don’t have anywhere to go back to, so I've gotta keep going forward.” Kiba declined, sharing a brief glance with Nikki.  
  
“Even if we’re headed to hell.” Tsume agreed wryly, earning surprised looks from his packmates, stepping up to his sister's left as he stated to the older alpha, “your pack may not have gotten to Paradise, but there’s no doubt in my mind that _our_ pack is gonna find it.”  
  
“Tsume…” Toboe said quietly, just as shocked as the odd couple at their resident pessimist.  
  
Eri smiled wryly at the named wolf's resolve, giving a sniff before looking to her father as she realized that fate had brought these wolves into her life for a reason.  
  
Nikki’s eyes softened and she punched his shoulder out of habit, wondering as their eyes met, “and we're gonna find it together… right?”  
  
Tsume quieted and smirked wryly at the zeal that brightened her gaze, seeing her beam when he nodded and remarked, “you're outta your mind if y’think I'm not coming to keep an eye on you.”  
  
Zoli stood then, earning a raised brow from the younger wolves as he nodded to his mate to assure her that he was fine, before he turned to lead the way down the alley and let the four wolves follow. He glanced back when hearing the lighter footsteps of his daughter to see her with the younger wolves, and he smiled wryly.

Wincing from the rather hard fall while inside the cage, Hige opened his eyes to see his friends standing around his cage. He grumbled and straightened before sulking, “why do you guys hafta be so rough?”  
  
“Do you know how lucky you are to be alive?” Toboe scolded annoyedly.  
  
Nikki giggled before clapping him on the back and agreeing lightly, “couldn’t have said it better myself, pup.”  
  
“You can get yourself out of there, right?” Tsume rolled his eyes.  
  
Hige huffed slightly as he replied, “yeah but that barbaric schtick isn't really me.”  
  
Kiba also rolled his eyes before stepping forward to bend the bars at enough of an angle for their packmate to slip out.

Despite the fact that the tunnel stunk almost as badly as the entryway, which was no surprise on her part, she was glad to be leaving this town.  
  
“You’re not coming, then,” he looked at their elder, choosing to not ask as he figured it would be pointless to do so.  
  
Said alpha let his eyes rest on the darkness in the tunnel, “nah. But I’d like to think that, in the end, there’s those who can make it to Paradise and there’s those who can’t. I’m convinced of that… it’s time you all find out if there's actually a Paradise at the end of this path.”  
  
Her brother huffed slightly as he observed, “come to think of it, you don’t really act like a wolf.”  
  
“Tsume,” the younger alpha began to correct him.  
  
“A wolf protects its own,” their she-wolf agreed with her sibling, nodding to the older alpha and adding calmly, “it’s not normal for an alpha to look out for a pack that's not his.”  
  
Zoli regarded the siblings, namely the younger one, and huffed wryly as he mused aloud, “then maybe I _have_ fallen…” he looked at the other she-wolf who looked excited to leave but also looked sad, tousling her straight hair as he guessed in a softened tone, “but _you_ haven’t… have you?”  
  
Eri looked to her new friends for a moment before embracing him one last time, being held just as tightly, drawing away with some reluctance. “I still remember that day, when you came back all alone, and I… I’m not gonna suffer like you did, Da, and if she were here then I think Mom would agree. I want to see with my own eyes if Paradise is real after all.” She gave a sniff at mention of her late mother.  
  
Zoli smiled ruefully at the same thought, brushing locks of brown from her cheek as he huffed in agreement, “that she would… she was always proud of you, but I know she'd be happy that you're doing this… as I am. It's days like this where I almost forget how grown you are.” He nodded her forward, watching her smile sadly before she obeyed, looking to the white wolf as he urged, “keep an eye on her for me.”  
  
Kiba caught the flicker of pity in his mate’s blue eyes and nodded slightly to the older alpha, being first to take off down the tunnel. He glanced to the left when their she-wolf came to his flank and heard Tsume, Hige, Toboe and Eri follow them.


	8. Float

Given two out of the four males were the only realists present, they found their alpha’s trudging on to be annoying if not irksome, especially as he wasn't divulging anything other than the confidence that they were going in the right direction. And it was barely three weeks they had left the island behind them.  
  
“Since you've been kinda vague so far, just what’s leading you now?” The oldest of their ragtag pack asked their designated leader, having switched places with his sister as she walked at the back.  
  
The mentioned white wolf replied over his shoulder with unwavering confidence, “I’m going on instinct.”  
  
“ _’Instinct_ ’…?” The pudgy wolf echoed with some exasperation, looking to his old friend for some measure of sanity as he asked, “hey princess, ya can’t say you agree with him… right?”  
  
Said black wolf seemed thoughtful for a moment before answering calmly, “the fearless wonder is actually right on this. My gut tells me we're going the right way.”  
  
“Your _gut's_ tellin' you what to do now, _that's_ comforting…” Her brother drawled sardonically, ignoring the death glare from her, adding off-handedly, "you're about as helpful as this hotshot when ya both share the one brain cell."  
  
Hige snorted slightly when the mentioned wolf scowled back at Tsume, lamenting, “I can't believe I'm agreeing with Tsume of all people… just wish we were getting closer to actually getting somewhere, like if we had a sign or somethin'…”  
  
Toboe made a face and chided him, “c'mon, Hige, you’ve gotta think positive… even Eri's more positive than you two.” He gestured to said gray wolf.  
  
Eri smiled sheepishly at being pulled into the conversation before agreeing with the pup, “he's got a point, Hige, especially since you're the one who narrowly avoided death a few weeks ago.” She giggled when Hige sulked at the reminder.  
  
“Still think it’s too early for _you_ to take sides, pipsqueak.” Tsume huffed coolly. He still didn't like that she had tagged along on their venture to hell, especially so because she was as annoying as his sister if not twice as much. He added when she scowled up at him, “’sides, ya shouldn't tempt Porky like that.”  
  
Brow twitching at his big mouth that got on her nerves since day one, Eri drawled in return, “so sounding badass for one second of your life _didn't_ remove the stick outta your ass? I'm _shocked_ , you oversized asshat, _truly_ I am!”  
  
“Don't make me laugh, _bratzilla_ , you only wish you could sound cool… but if anyone’s got a stick up their ass, it’s gotta be _you_.” Tsume scoffed annoyedly, brow also twitching, as he returned the scowl.  
  
“If you pull the stick _out_ , I'm sure you'd definitely reach _peak coolness_ , jerkoff…” Eri retorted in the same tone. She had grown up with four brothers so he would be sorely mistaken if he thought he could cow her with a few snarky words.  
  
“Seriously, can you two not go at it again…” Nikki started to play peacemaker, something she had had to do within the last week or so as the odd pair butted heads more than she and Kiba had, before her ears perked as they all caught the shrill beeping of an airship overhead.  
  
Eri winced at the sharpness of the noise that sounded louder with each passing second, she and the others having stopped to look up past the clouded skies.  
  
“I hate that noise…” Toboe grumbled as he had covered his ears, and Tsume couldn’t find room to disagree.  
  
The ground shook beneath them then as an aerial battle broke out in the skies above, making the pup yelp in surprise as he latched onto the younger she-wolf who also jumped.  
  
Feeling that familiar tug which was more like a sharp yank that pulled at her chest, Nikki flinched before she looked upward, “holy shit… Kiba!” She breathed in shock.  
  
“I felt it too… she’s there!” Kiba agreed in an awestruck tone, surprising the quartet, as he walked ahead of them towards the source.  
  
Tsume scowled between the couple, “hang on, you two, it’s none of our business; Kiba, snap out of it,” he looked at their alpha who hadn’t seemed to hear him.  
  
Kiba bristled slightly and looked at the four as he demanded, “don’t you guys feel anything?” He turned to run towards where the Beacon would be.  
  
“Does he always do this?” Eri wondered aloud, perking up as Nikki raced after him and called, “h-hey, Nikki!”  
  
“Wait up, guys!” Hige called.  
  
Tsume muttered a ‘ _tch_ ’ and looked at the three before following the couple's lead, “come on!”

Being here at the top of the mountain was actually peaceful. It seemed all the frustration and griping was gone from them like if it was a bad dream that had plagued their ragtag pack. For once in her life, she felt at peace.  
  
Claws dug into the bank of the large pond, she hesitated to follow him to greet the esteemed Beacon, the same girl whose scent they had chased for the last few months that felt more like years. While she was glad for their success, a small part of her— the doubt in the far back of her subconscious that had been fed by Tsume— still wondered if this wasn’t a hallucinogenic dream or something like that…  
  
Her silver gaze met the crimson stare of the Flower Maiden, and it took her a half-second before she recognized the girl was staring at her.  
  
A kind smile appeared on the girl’s lips and she said gently, “it is alright… this one has been waiting for you as well, Nikki.”  
  
Nikki steeled herself from hesitating further, declawing herself from the bank to wade into the shallow waters to greet the girl.  
  
Gold eyes soft at seeing her come to his side, Kiba nudged her cheek with his nose and watched her wince somewhat before she calmed and nudged back with a likewise-soft look meant for him, and he looked at Cheza who stroked her fur with her kind smile present.  
  
That doubt that she had carried, the frostbitten and hardened doubt she’d held for most of her life, was now gone… her mother had been right all along.  
  
_Paradise was real_.

Eri winced at the repeating gunfire’s noise, poking her head out for a second only for the soldier who had spotted her to be cut down by their alpha. “No chill whatsoever…” she mused aloud, ears twitching and looking at the black wolf who placed a hand on her shoulder, “Nikki?”  
  
“Stay with Toboe,” Nikki instructed her, receiving a short nod, before joining her packmates in fending off the soldiers they had the unfortunate chance of running into. She rushed the oncoming soldier that took aim at where Eri and Toboe were, dropping him without effort and his throat ripped open. Minding the shocked expression on the dead man's face, she puffed and snatched the belt he'd had that still had three unlocked grenades, musing, “these might be useful…”  
  
“Nikki!” Kiba, having seen the other soldiers that had come from a smaller tunnel that led to theirs take aim at her, rushed to snatched her out of the way seconds before the bullets started flying. They both dove behind a broken part of the nearby short wall, and he held onto her before his ears perked when the bullets suddenly stopped flying.  
  
Both chosen wolves poked their heads out of hiding to see Hige and Tsume had returned in time, the latter flicking stray blood from his trusted knife.  
  
“Your timing was actually perfect for once,” Nikki huffed as she straightened first from their hiding place, helping Kiba to his feet.  
  
Tsume smirked at her sarcasm before his smirk faltered when he regarded grenade belt she had on hand, demanding when she perked up at seeing his scowl returned, “you stole that thing?”  
  
Nikki returned the scowl as she fastened the belt at her waist and defended, “they might come in handy! You forget I got my resourcefulness from _you_ , dear brother…”  
  
“You two can argue later, they’ve got that end closed off… what’re we gonna do?” Hige cut across the siblings, looking to their alpha.  
  
Tsume's scowl lingered on his sister before he followed Hige's gaze and suggested, “if we left her here, it’d be easier. She’s what they’re after, right?”  
  
“No way!” Kiba sharply declined.  
  
Nikki agreed, “Kiba’s right, we can’t let them take her again! We just need to think of something, and quick…”  
  
“Guys!” Toboe spoke up then, making the four look for him and Eri to see they stood infront of an open corridor before they followed them in to find Cheza at the end.  
  
“This way,” Cheza declared when hearing the wolves enter the corridor, taking off again and hearing the pack follow her leave.


	9. Sleeping Wolves

She experienced doubt as much as the next girl, sure, but to doubt Cheza? She was the one who was leading them to Paradise, after all… why would the boys doubt what was right infront of them?  
  
A gentle tug on her sleeve pulled her from her thoughts, and the she-wolf glanced at her charge. She smiled with some exasperation and rubbed her neck with her free hand as she apologized in a quiet tone, “sorry about the boys, they’re just… well, pig-headed, I guess you could call it.”  
  
She shook her head before replying with a light smile, “it is alright, this one believes they will come around.”  
  
Nikki smiled wryly and nodded along before musing, “yeah, true, you'd think with two girls in the pack they would relax for once, ne, Eri?" She looked to the younger female who was a couple of steps ahead of her.  
  
Eri dropped back a little at hearing her name and nodded as well, "tell me about it. I grew up with brothers, yeah, but none of them were as exhausting as yours…”  
  
“…Isn’t that what makes her a threat to us?” Speak of the devil. Both she-wolves looked at the mentioned gray wolf who was looking at their alpha and went on, "she stinks up the place and then those dumbasses will find us, one way or another.”  
  
Half-wondering why she wasn't an only child, Nikki shared a mild look with Eri before putting in with a patient tone, “human noses aren’t as sharp as ours, Tsume, so don't jinx us like that.”  
  
Tsume shifted slightly to scowl at her before retorting, “I think between the two of us, we're better off trusting _my_ judgement considerin' _you're_ high on flower stink.”  
  
“You forget you’re _not_ the alpha here, _Tsume_ , so do us all a favor and knock it off, wouldja?” Nikki reminded, shifting her weight from boot to boot as she folded her arms at her chest.  
  
Tsume bristled a bit and took a step closer to her, amber locked with blue, as he stated lowly, “and your being head bitch now makes you _forget_ that you can't tell me what to do, _Nikole_. Ever since we left the dome I've wondered if you had a lick of sanity in that thick skull of yours, specifically when you snatched that grenade belt the other day.”  
  
Nikki bristled as she stepped up to him, growling out, "don't call me that! You're talkin' outta your ass if you think I've forgotten that you also played it close to the chest too many times…”  
  
“C'mon guys, cut it out!” Toboe said anxiously as they looked between the siblings.  
  
Kiba clapped a hand on Nikki's shoulder as he scowled between them and agreed, “Toboe’s right, that’s enough from the both of you.”  
  
"Stay out of this, Kiba, this isn't your business," Tsume growled at him, his lip curled in a grimace.  
  
“Whether you like it or not, Tsume, Nikki is my mate so this _is_ my business.” Kiba retorted testily, standing his ground when earning a glare from the older wolf.  
  
The electrified tension fled suddenly when humming sounded from the back, causing the six to look at Cheza who was singing a wordless tune, and a blanket of drowsiness overcame the wolves.  
  
Toboe, Eri and Hige were first to fall asleep. Tsume vainly looked for his sister to see she was asleep snuggled against the white wolf’s right side, before he was the last to let sleep take him.

‘ _ **Nikki** …_’  
  
A disgruntled whine came from the black wolf as she snuggled deeper into the warm pelt and grumbled, ‘ _five more minutes, Tsume_ …’  
  
Rolling his eyes, the white wolf tugged on her ear and urged a bit louder, ‘ _wake up, princess_.’ He slightly shuffled away when her eyes opened and she recognized she had slept curled up with him, a soft smirk on his chops as he greeted, ' _morning_.’  
  
' _Coulda warned me it was you,_ ' Nikki returned with a sniff, lowering her ears a bit and looking elsewhere.  
  
Kiba nuzzled her cheek, smiling when she gave him a mild look of defeat, grumbling to her, ‘ _I thought about it, but you looked cute asleep_.’  
  
‘ _Shut up,_ ' Nikki groused, tugging on his ear when noting the fond twinkle in his eye, sitting on her haunches and yawning. She looked over at her still-sleeping brother who hadn't budged from the foot of a tree, smirking and musing to their alpha, ' _I haven't slept so good in… it’s been years_.’  
  
Kiba stretched his paws before shaking his pelt, regarding the pensive look on her face as he mused more to himself, ' _I'd have done something more noticeable to wake you up, if I knew you'd be so grumpy in the morning_.'  
  
Shivering a little at his implication, Nikki looked away with a huff and advised, ' _try to keep your boner to yourself, hotshot._ '  
  
‘ _Geez, even at daybreak you two are arguing._ ’ Hige griped nearby, causing the couple to stiffen before looking to his deadpan expression that was shared by Eri who had padded to sit at his side, while Toboe looked between the four with some confusion.  
  
' _And you say that Tsume and I bicker like old people_ …’ Eri yawned before looking between the couple and Hige.  
  
Kiba grumped at their being a spectacle for the younger trio and asked with some annoyance, ‘ _how long were you sitting there?_ ’  
  
Nikki shook her pelt and glanced over at Cheza who was watching over her slumbering brother before musing, ‘ _forget that, I figured you’d still be snoring away like Tsume._ ’  
  
‘ _Well Toboe was kicking in his sleep, so he woke me up,_ ’ Eri defended with a gentle nudge to the pup.  
  
Toboe replied with a sheepish chuckle, ‘ _you were sleeping pretty soundly too, Eri._ ’  
  
‘ _I was wondering who was snoring **louder** , E or Tsume_…’ Hige lamented before wincing when said she-wolf nipped his cheek in response, pouting at her and proposing to their alpha, ‘ _anywho, the runt and I were talkin’ and figured we should check out the nearby town for food. Can’t keep going on an empty stomach, can you?_ ’  
  
The chosen pair shared a brief look before nodding at their friend’s idea. ‘ _Good idea, but what about Tsume?_ ’ Kiba asked before looking over at the sleeping wolf.  
  
Nikki looked at the girl who looked their way and smiled, guessing, ' _Cheza will look out for him, right?_ ’ She received a nod.  
  
Kiba nodded as well and agreed, ‘ _fair enough, let’s go._ ’ He stood to let Hige lead the way to the town, following with Toboe and the girls.

At not finding much, the couple was first to return to their makeshift camp a few hours later.  
  
Tsume was first to greet them, surprisingly grumpy despite the good sleep he’d had, scowling as their leader informed him of the soldiers that had blocked any means of escape from the nearby town. He caught the amused smirk on his sister’s face and cocked a brow as he demanded, “what’s so funny?”  
  
“Nothin’, just glad you got some decent rest for once.” Nikki shrugged innocently as Kiba let them have a moment alone.  
  
“Coulda woken me up, y’know, instead of leaving me with _her_ ,” Tsume huffed indifferently as he pointed over his shoulder.  
  
Nikki rolled her eyes, “I tried but Cheza insisted that you needed your sleep… seems to have taken a few worry lines off your face.” She giggled at the dagger-filled scowl he gave her, sobering and asking as she thought of the night before, “we okay?”  
  
Recalling their exchange of words, Tsume also sobered and rubbed his neck as he looked elsewhere to give her a look and answer, “yeah, we’re good. Just tell me you pinched something, the next time around…? You _are_ the only brat sister I’ve got, y'know.”  
  
“Like you’re the only asshat brother _I’ve_ got.” Nikki nodded, gently slugging his arm and walking past him to meet the white wolf.  
  
Tsume rubbed his arm and looked at her to see her significant other take her hand in his and he turned away to huff and resume stretching his legs.  
  
Nikki retook Kiba's hand and leaned against him, smiling fondly when he released her hand in favor of her waist, wondering of him in a quieted voice, “not still nursing that refusal from this morning, are you?"  
  
"If you're having second thoughts…" Kiba returned in the same tone, leaving a kiss on her temple before looking on her with a cocked brow. He noted the rosiness in her cheeks at the thought and he squeezed her waist, smirking fondly when she kept his hand there, "I'm not that guy, Nik, I respect you too much to take what I want." Despite the urges.  
  
Face soft in a measure of relief at his chivalry, Nikki kissed his neck gently and leaned her head on his shoulder as she teased, "good, I'd have to kick your ass if otherwise."  
  
Hige, Toboe and Eri returned within an hour, bringing food as well as gifts for Cheza.  
  
Cheza frowned softly when the pup placed a fur-coat on her shoulders.  
  
“You don’t like it…” Toboe mumbled, crestfallen.  
  
Kiba commented from his seat on the nearby tree’s roots, “sure seems like it.”  
  
Nikki ribbed him before stepping up to remove the coat, “the point is that you tried, right?” Although truth be told she couldn't find room to disagree with Kiba, considering the coat looked like it had been taken right off the back of a live bear.  
  
“Told ya it wasn’t gonna work… I think she’ll like these better,” Hige huffed as he came forward to place a pair of pink boots before the girl.  
  
Tsume folded his arms at his chest, “I wouldn’t be so sure about that…” he looked at the younger she-wolf and asked, "you're a girl too, brat, shouldn't your job have been to make sure she'd like whatever you guys found for her?"  
  
Eri made a face that he would admit was funny before she defended calmly, “how _else_ do you think Hige found those pink boots, because of his inner conscience?” She looked away when Cheza seemed to light up at slipping the boots on, hopping to her feet to test them out before she was soon laughing softly as she twirled around like… well, like a flower. Eri smiled thoughtfully at the sight.  
  
Nikki also found herself smiling before it faltered when the girl immediately stopped and froze in place as her crimson eyes widened and stared ahead. “What’s up, Cheza…?” Her ears perked as she followed the girl’s stare to see a pale old woman staring back through a pair of black sunglasses.  
  
Hige and Toboe also froze at recognizing the old crow as Kiba and Tsume reflexively bristled.   
  
Eri stiffened slightly from her place by Tsume  
  
Nikki wordlessly stepped forward to defend the girl.  
  
“Who are you?” Cheza asked of the old lady who started towards them.

‘ _Is it all right that this one stays with you?_ ’  
  
Ridiculous as the question sounded, she understood why she asked it… she would’ve felt just as lonely if she didn’t have Tsume.  
  
Nikki regarded the waxing moon that was starting to come out and leaned her head on his shoulder.  
  
Kiba looked at her and mused as he caught the pensive crinkle of her brow, “don’t frown so much, your face will get stuck like that.”  
  
Nikki looked up at him and hesitated to speak when recognizing that he saw the look on her face, and her cheeks warmed slightly before she chuckled, “honestly…” Her ears perked when feeling that tug on her coat sleeve and she looked to see the girl was ready to leave.  
  
She quieted when noting the downcast expression on her pale face and let her lead the way out of the forest.


	10. Dead Trees Talking I

Bristling slightly when recognizing the same black dog from Freeze City, she was taken by surprise when seeing the girl didn’t fear that hunter’s mutt.  
  
“We have a friend, even here,” Cheza said lightly, drawing away from the chosen duo to approach the leashed canine, crouching to look at it as she heard the couple follow per precaution.  
  
She looked up when feeling his hand on her shoulder and assured him with a nod that she was fine before refocusing on the dog, “you do not know what you are, do you? You never did… there is some wolf inside you, too.” She said calmly, surprising the dog as well as the two wolves.  
  
_That explains how she could track us in the city,_ Nikki mused with a nod, watching the half-breed slightly flinch when the girl reached to stroke her muzzle even though her clear blue eyes stayed on her in awe.  
  
Cheza adopted a compassionate look and wondered of the half-wolf, “you were alone your whole life, were you not?”  
  
Kiba looked up when catching the familiar stink of soldiers coming towards their alley, and he looked at both females as he urged, “let’s go."  
  
Giving him a nod as she had also smelled them, Nikki looked at the wolf-dog for a second longer before she lifted Cheza up by the hand and took off after his lead down the alley.

Being near humans wasn’t foreign to her, given the life she’d had with her father, but being hunted by a nobleman’s soldiers didn’t sit well with her. And she wasn’t the only one who thought like that, so she took heart in that measure of comfort.  
  
Both wolves walked the lonely alley in general silence. They had found shelter in the nearby dump of the latest town –Aerial City, as she had overheard when they had entered the town not two hours ago— they had stumbled upon, and both black and brown wolf were to keep an eye on Cheza while the rest of them went to explore.  
  
She was just glad she hadn’t gotten paired up with Tsume.  
  
Eri cleared her throat as the silence was starting to get to her and asked for curiosity's sake, “so, how’d you guess that Zoli was my father?”  
  
“You’d been spying on us since we set foot on the island, and my guess is that he wouldn’t have _just_ anyone do that job,” Kiba explained with a shrug, catching the measure of guilt that darkened her brown eyes, and adding, “thanks for your help, back there.”  
  
“Don’t mention it… though I gotta admit you lot were impressive to stand up to Da like that. Noone's ever had the stones to do that, not even those dicks who… well, y’know,” Eri smiled wryly with a shrug as she looked elsewhere for a moment.  
  
Kiba started to say something before he paused to sniff the air, glancing at her as she had also caught the same scent, “c'mon.” He was first to break away and ascend the nearest low roof at a hop.  
  
Eri shortly followed, catching the whiff of soldier now that they were off the ground, stopping at his left when they at last reached a tall rooftop that looked onto the dry patch of the outskirts, and she bristled a little at recognizing the same soldiers from the ruins who had set up a base in the dry patch.  
  
“Why are they after her, just because some noble wants to use her?” She asked quietly as they ducked a little to avoid being spotted and watched the soldiers move about their temporary base.  
  
“She was supposedly created in a lab, at least from what Nikki told me.” Kiba nodded again.  
  
Eri smirked wryly at seeing his face soften when mentioning his mate, observing, “you must love her… Nikki, I mean. You wouldn’t have made her stay behind otherwise.”  
  
Kiba smiled privately despite her words that, if he were embarrassed about being found out, would've otherwise flustered him, nodding as he explained, “she saved my life the day we met, and has kinda had the jump on me ever since, so yeah.” That was enough for Eri to hear, he believed, considering he didn't want to gross her out.  
  
Eri rolled her eyes at the mighty alpha's enamored look when he spoke of his mate, lightly nudging him as she advised, “c'mon Romeo, we should return to the others.” 

Toboe exhaled in relief when the coast was clear as he poked his head above their seat and wondered, “why’re those guys after Cheza, anyway?”  
  
“Dunno but it's prolly because the nobles paying them want her back,” Nikki answered as she resumed propping her feet up on the headrest of the seat in front of her, rubbing her nose gingerly with a finger as she added, "not like that's gonna happen with us around.”  
  
“R-right!” Toboe nodded, briefly admiring her confidence, leaning over the seat as he asked out of curiosity, “Nikki, have you always disliked humans?”  
  
Nikki shrugged and answered nonchalantly, “I can tolerate them so long as they don’t try to kill me…” seeing the curious look falter from his young face, she looked at him and guessed, “you were raised by a human, weren’t you?”  
  
Toboe nodded again with a wistful smile as he explained, “yeah. Granny, she took me in and gave me these,” he gestured to the four bracelets on his wrist that softly jingled with his movement.  
  
“Sounds like a sweet old lady… you're lucky to have been raised by a human like her.” Nikki replied with a somewhat-soft look on her face as she smiled at him.  
  
“Yeah, I guess you’re right…” Toboe laughed sheepishly and admitted, “but sometimes I wish Tsume was my big brother too… not like I don’t like you because you’re his sister, I mean…” he fumbled and looked away with a likewise smile.  
  
Eyes soft, Nikki reached to tousle his hair as she mused lightly, “if ya feel so strongly about it, then he can be your big brother, too… he’s a bit of an ass, though.” She added with a pout.  
  
Toboe laughed.

Eri rolled her eyes when the pup jumped a bit as the remaining two regrouped with them, greeting dryly, “you two sure took your time.”  
  
“Missed you too…” Tsume huffed when catching his sister’s agreeing nod.  
  
Hige smiled cheekily and remarked, “hey at least we got through…”  
  
A bullet suddenly struck the ground near the pup’s footing, spooking the pack before six sets of eyes looked to the nearby cliffside to recognize the old hunter glaring down at them from the lens of his rifle.  
  
“ **Go**!” Tsume snapped as they scattered when the hunter fired at them, heading for the trees.  
  
Nikki skidded to a halt when Cheza tripped behind them and she doubled back to help her up. “C'mon, Cheza…” she hoisted her arm over her shoulders before perking up as another shot went off and the bullet streaked for her.  
  
Specks of blood flew when the bullet struck the left shoulder of the white wolf who had dove to protect both females, said male's teeth bared at the stab of pain.  
  
“Kiba!” Cheza said in surprise.  
  
“ _Hige!”_ Nikki beckoned sharply as the named wolf rushed to her side to grab Cheza, and she in turn grabbed Kiba's good hand and held fast as they both followed Hige to the safety of the trees.  
  
When the hunter looked up again from reloading, the wolves were gone.  
  
It took at least four rows of trees to put between them and the edges of the forest but the pack finally stopped running to regain their bearings.  
  
“Why the hell is _he_ here?” Tsume wondered at large as he scowled at the way they had come.  
  
“He must really hate wolves if he followed us all the way from the dome…” Hige agreed.  
  
Kiba regarded that everyone present looked okay and asked, “is everyone all right?”  
  
“Yeah,” Eri replied first as she looked from the boys to Cheza before giving him a nod.  
  
“ _You’re_ not, though,” Nikki observed as she gestured to his bum shoulder and reasoned, “we need to get the bullet out.”  
  
“I can still run, Nik, I'll be fine…” Kiba reminded patiently.  
  
Brow twitching at his stubbornness, Nikki cut him off with an equally-stubborn tone, “the hell you are! You've gotten shot in the same shoulder before, so you're outta your mind if you think I'm gonna lighten up, Kiba.”  
  
Tsume considered the last time he had gotten scuffed in the city and let her patch him up, nodding to his sister. “Holler if you need a sedative,” he then ushered the trio plus Cheza away to let her work, almost feeling sorry for Kiba.  
  
_Almost_.  
  
Kiba scowled after him and exhaled in defeat as he let her shrug off his jacket so she could look at his shoulder, looking at her when she drew a knife from her boot, smaller than the ones she usually resorted to using, “you’re not seriously…”  
  
“It’s the only way to get the slug out,” Nikki reasoned, tilting her head at the slight frown on his brow before he nodded a bit at her method, rolling up the sleeve with gentility.  
  
Kiba barely stifled the growl in his throat when the cool blade dug into his arm to then twist slightly when finding the lodged bullet. He shrugged off the tension in his muscles before glancing down when the bullet popped out to then hit the forest floor, looking at her when hearing cloth tearing to see she was fastening a white bandage around his shoulder.  
  
He caught the slight tightness around her eyes lessen as she covered his mending injury, musing as she tightened the bandage before tying it, “getting shot in the same place is more of a pain in the ass than it was the first time.”  
  
Nikki smiled wryly at his complaining and remarked, “then don’t get shot.” She stowed the remaining bandage roll in her coat's inner pocket as she added, “your shoulder will be completely fixed on the next full moon.”  
  
He really **did** trust her if he didn't hesitate to complain about his injuries between the two of them.  
  
“Kinda _have to_ get shot, don't I, especially when the woman I love is threatened,” Kiba stated as more of a thought between taking his jacket from her hand, pausing when recognizing what was said.  
  
Having frozen at his words, Nikki felt her cheeks burn a bit before calming as she took heart in his confirming the mutual feelings between them and asking in a softened voice, “… you've loved me enough to do that since day one, haven't you?”  
  
Kiba considered what she referred to, cheeks also pink at first before he nodded and answered with his confidence returned, "I’ve never felt anything like how I feel with you. You’re an island, Nikki, and I've known since we met that I would do anything for you.”  
  
Nikki regarded the fond light in his eyes and she smiled shyly at his declaration, replying with likewise confidence, "I love you, too… you're kind of an idiotic jackass sometimes, but I know you mean well in spite of that.”  
  
“Could’ve gone without calling me a ‘ _jackass’_ …” Kiba grumped at the term as he glanced away for a moment, his eyes warming when she giggled.  
  
“ _’Sweet puppy_ ’ sounds better, you’re right.” Nikki nodded along with a cheery smile on her lips extended to the pout on his face.


	11. Dead Trees Talking II

Three yelps of fear sounded when the gray wolf caught the overgrown bug on reflex, the ensnared beetle squirming as the shrill buzzing coming from it only grew louder the longer it squirmed.  
  
The oldest of the pack glanced at both the pup and the girls who had calmed when the bug was caught, refraining from slapping his forehead when his sister poked her head from behind her mate’s left arm.  
  
“What’s with you?” The mentioned alpha asked curiously as his mate shot a death glare at the protesting bug, having both stiffened when she zipped behind him but also quelling a laugh at the sight, looking at his right when the younger female had also ducked behind him given he was closest.  
  
Her brother snorted in amusement at the two females' discomfort, moreso towards the younger of the two, as he explained in a calm tone, “the Chosen Brat has a bug phobia… she's kinda been traumatized since she was a pup.”  
  
“Only because you used them to scare the shit outta me when we were growing up… Overgrown Asshat.” Nikki defended, cheeks rosy in embarrassment as the other three males simultaneously looked at her, scowling up at her shield as he coughed to cover up a chuckle.  
  
Eri put in with a scowl meant for the older gray wolf as she shuffled out of her hiding place, “don’t clown Nikki for it, not all of us are as fearless as _you_ , Tsume.”  
  
Tsume ignored her, on purpose moreso than accident considering it was fun to annoy her, as he examined the beetle and noted, “I’ve never seen a bug so big before…” he then offered it to Hige who jumped somewhat at having the insect nearly shoved into his face. “Here, you’re usually prattling on about food; chow down,” he suggested calmly.  
  
Hige's brow twitched at being made fun of by the older wolf, taking a step back as he stammered a little, “e-eh, why _should_ I!?”  
  
“Because _you’ve_ got the strongest stomach,” Toboe snickered and ignored the scowl from the mentioned wolf.  
  
Tsume deadpanned and insisted, "go on."  
  
“I-I ain’t your taster, and why’re you giving me orders, anyway? You’re not the alpha, here…” Hige barked indignantly before a lightbulb came on and he proposed, “hey I know, let’s give it to Cheza!” Taking the bug from the other wolf’s hand, he zipped to present it to the girl who blinked once in surprise, asking with hope, “you’re hungry too, right?”  
  
Both she-wolves deadpanned at his effort to avoid eating the beetle.  
  
Kiba then smacked the beetle from his hand and slew it in the same instant, giving his friend a look as he said, “Cheza doesn’t eat bugs.”  
  
Hige pouted and asked blandly, “then what do we feed her?”  
  
Cheza offered calmly, “this one doesn’t eat anything.”  
  
“Nothing? Hang on a second…” Eri frowned in confusion.  
  
Tsume cocked a brow even though he supplied, “I don’t think I’ve seen her eat before.”  
  
"I've seen her drink water once," Toboe said.  
  
“This one drinks and basks,” Cheza stated with a serene smile.  
  
It was Kiba’s turn to cock a brow as he wondered, “ _’basks’_ in what?”  
  
“It’s obvious, isn’t it? Sunlight!” Nikki explained as she was first to connect the proverbial dots, earning a nod from their charge, before she looked between the older males of their pack and pondered, “maybe too much _testosterone_ in the air has done a number on your brains…”  
  
Tsume's brow twitched.  
  
Hige pouted sulkily at her.  
  
Kiba folded his arms at his chest with a sniff.  
  
“ **Very funny**.” The mentioned trio said simultaneously.  
  
Toboe tilted his head as he asked both girls, “what is this ‘ _testosterone_ ’ stuff, anyway?”  
  
“You’ll understand when you’re older,” Eri assured with a giggle as she ruffled his hair.

Tsume glanced back at his companions, preferably the pup with the sprained ankle, and he gave a short exhale as he recognized they obviously weren't meant to have a moment's peace on this journey.  
  
“He can’t even handle a simple forest! I told you ya can’t take city kids to the woods…” Hige huffed with a sagely nod.  
  
Nikki rolled her eyes and whacked the back of his head out of habit, “as if _you’d_ last a day without food in your pockets…” she smiled serenely when Hige sulked.  
  
"Can you walk, Toboe?" Eri wondered gently of the pup as she and Kiba inspected the youngest's sprain.  
  
Toboe nodded, “I think so… ow!” He winced when trying to right himself only to plop back down on the large root, perking up as the five with him did when Cheza came forward and laid her hands on his foot.  
  
“Does that feel good?” Hige asked as he came up to them for curiosity's sake.  
  
Toboe giggled, “y-yeah! Thanks Cheza.” He smiled brightly at the girl.  
  
Kiba allowed a smile before it faltered a degree when Hige asked to be petted next and gave a jittery laugh when she did so.  
  
Nikki rolled her eyes again as Eri slapped her forehead.  
  
“Come on Tsume, let Cheza pet you too!” Toboe said lightly as he looked at the gray wolf.  
  
Tsume glanced at the five only to deadpan when Hige gave another jittery laugh, being first to take heart when they resumed walking about ten minutes later.  
  
“This forest isn’t so bad once you get used to it; there’s nothing to fight over and no humans around either… we’ve got it all to ourselves!” Hige commented.  
  
Toboe smiled and agreed lightly, “and if we get hungry there’s plenty of bugs to eat!”  
  
Nikki winced at the idea as she groused, “I think I’d sooner chew my leg off…”  
  
“Fat chance!” Hige sniffed with an equally-disgusted grimace at the notion.  
  
Tsume deadpanned, “then you’d better not start whining when we don’t share with you.”  
  
“I’ll say it again, who the hell died and made you alpha?” Hige demanded annoyedly as he stopped to scowl at the other.  
  
Kiba rubbed a hand over his face and offered patiently, “neither of us is the leader, Hige; our pack isn’t the kind that has one.”  
  
Tsume scowled slightly at him as he chose to ask, “so what kind of pack _are_ we?”  
  
“Can we _not_ , for today, boys…?” Eri asked with exasperation as she and Nikki both deadpanned.  
  
Toboe piped up if only to keep the fur from flying (again), “come on you guys, does that even matter? Hey, when we all make it out of here, what’s the very first thing you wanna do?”  
  
“What do you _think?”_ Hige rolled his eyes.  
  
“Eat as much as I can,” said Tsume.  
  
Kiba agreed, “eat and sleep.”  
  
Nikki started with a sniff, “cold-clock _all three_ of you dumbasses…”  
  
“… and _then_ pig out.” Eri finished, exchanging a fist-bump with her fellow she-wolf.  
  
Blushing when his stomach grumbled, Toboe smiled weakly, “I guess you’re right…”  
  
“Moron, isn’t it obvious?” Hige jibed in slight annoyance.  
  
Eri was the one to whack him this time as she scolded, “don’t bully him, he’s still a pup!”  
  
Hige pouted and rubbed his probably-bruised head as he retorted, “well he’s gotta toughen up _somehow_ , right? Can’t keep babyin' him…”  
  
" _Both of you_ shut your asses! Givin' me a damned headache…” Tsume snapped at the two age-mates as a vein twitched on his brow set into a scowl.  
  
“So stuff some mushrooms in your ears, _geezer!”_ Eri scoffed in an equally-annoyed tone.  
  
Tsume fixed his death glare on her as he vowed lowly when amber and brown locked again, “oh I’ll find _somewhere_ to stuff 'em, pipsqueak…”  
  
"Now **I'm** getting the headache…” Nikki groaned as she slapped her forehead.  
  
“Cheza!” Kiba's outburst drew the five's attention to the named girl who had collapsed to be caught by their alpha, gently lowering her to the ground as he asked with concern, “are you alright?”  
  
She nodded and said tiredly, “this one is fine.” Her answer didn’t make any of the wolves feel at ease, especially the chosen pair.  
  
“A bird!” Hige declared as he looked at where he had seen the elusive creature, earning everyone’s attention.  
  
Tsume frowned and said if only to ward away any concern for their newest issue, “it’s the Forest of Death, you’re probably seeing things…”  
  
Hige shook his head as he argued, “no, I swear that was a bird. I heard wings flapping, which means… we’ve got meat!” He then took off into the wood.  
  
“Hige, come back!” Nikki called, grumbling when he didn’t return, “shit…”  
  
Tsume exhaled shortly once again and looked at Toboe as he ordered him, “stay with the girls.” He then took off after the pudgy wolf.

_‘Here isn’t helping, here isn’t helping!’_ A ghostly voice hooted above, causing the pack to stop and look up at the nearby tree’s higher branches to spot a brown owl perched on a low-sitting branch.  
  
The raptor studied the wolf pack with glazed-over blue eyes.  
  
“An owl?” Kiba wondered in slight surprise.  
  
Tsume bristled as he groused, “the damned spook is back.”  
  
‘ _It can’t be helped if there is no light, if there is no water… it can’t be helped if the Flower is withering!’_ The owl stated in the same ghostly tone.  
  
Nikki growled, “what’d you…” she trailed off at recognizing that the owl didn’t carry any scent on its person, gaping a little as she managed, “wait, you’re not serious…!”  
  
“Hang on a second, if that owl lives around here then he probably knows where we can find water!” Toboe piped up as he looked between the chosen pair.  
  
Kiba scowled up at the phantom as he asked, “alright, tell us, where can we find water?” He bristled when the owl cocked his head once and remained silent, snapping at him, “do you live in this forest or not!”  
  
“Kiba, who are you talking to?” Cheza asked quietly from her place on his back.  
  
“It’s an owl, Cheza,” Eri answered with a brief smile to the tired girl.  
  
Nikki clenched her fists on reflex and stepped up to the tree, “even if you _are_ what you are, you’ve got to know if there’s any water in this forest, right? Please, she needs water!”  
  
The owl remained silent before he flapped his wings and took off further into the darkened wood, making the wolves shortly give chase.  
  
_‘Go astray, go astray, good wolves! The answers always lie in confusion!’_ He hooted, _‘you will never find what you’re looking for; if the searcher were to find that which is searched for, it would then become an object!’_  
  
He finally stopped, perching on the branch of a tree that stood just yards shy of a cave’s narrow mouth as he finished, _‘the answer lies within the darkness, within confined spaces! Only those who enter bravely will be rewarded!’_  
  
Toboe frowned in confusion as he wondered, “what’s that mean?”  
  
“Crazy-feathers wants us to go in the cave…” Hige explained blandly, perking up when their leader strode ahead into the cave, stepping forward to stop him and ask incredulously, “h-hey, hang on a sec! You’re really going in there… what if there’s no water? This whole idea sucks.”  
  
Kiba glared at him, “unless you can tell me _where else_ to find water, we don’t have a choice, Hige!” He ignored the half-step back from his friend at his sharpness before he resumed leading the way inside.  
  
Tsume scowled as he caught the worry that darkened her blue eyes, musing aloud, “looks like your boytoy finally cracked.” He reluctantly followed her after said male to come to her right with Eri, Toboe, and Hige taking the rear.  
  
It was what she assumed, moreso felt, an hour or so later that they came to a fork in the road after having the feeling that they had been going in circles.  
  
“Pretty sure we went left…” the younger she-wolf commented when their alpha turned to the right, looking at him when he almost tripped on a small ledge and swore.  
  
“Calm down, will ya?” The gray wolf snapped.  
  
The black wolf shook her head and offered to ease his mind, “we’ll get out soon, okay? Just gotta keep our heads, no big deal.” She hoped he would actually listen.  
  
A desperate alpha was something that worried her, but she wasn’t about to admit it now.  
  
“You’re just tired, Kiba, that’s all. Want me to carry her?” The pup offered before the fur could fly, coming up to his side.  
  
Their leader turned his irritation on the pup, “do you think you can carry her, Toboe? Answer me!” He glared at the uncertain look on the younger wolf’s face and added sharply, “I don’t need your help.”  
  
“Kiba, come on, don’t snap at him! He’s just trying to…” Eri chided as she stepped up to the pup’s side, stiffening slightly when said wolf turned his glare on her next.  
  
Kiba retorted, “like I said, I don’t need help from any of you, Eri…”  
  
“Would you shut it?” Tsume growled out as he stepped in to defend the she-wolf and pup, briefly seeing his sister stiffen despite remaining silent as he stated, “we can’t trust your nose anymore, can we, if the scent of flowers has screwed it up!”  
  
Kiba glowered at him, arguing, “my nose is fine!”  
  
“Put her down, Kiba.” Tsume ordered flatly; it didn’t bear repeating for her to know his patience was spent.  
  
“You still don’t trust her, Tsume?” Kiba demanded angrily.  
  
“ _Enough, Kiba.”_ Both males looked at Nikki as she turned to the named wolf with sharpened eyes. “It’s _not_ Tsume we can’t trust right now… we’ll get out of here and see the next moonrise, yeah, but we can’t go anywhere if _you’re_ acting like a jackass… okay?”  
  
Kiba recognized the pity in her eyes and quieted as the glare fell from his face, looking elsewhere for a moment before looking at her when she touched his cheek, "Nik…"  
  
Nikki smiled fondly when their eyes met before her ears twitched as the pup stepped on something crunchy, and they simultaneously looked down at what he had stepped on.  
  
“Are those human bones…?” Hige asked curiously as Eri and Toboe took a closer look.  
  
Toboe frowned concernedly, “I think… these are from a bird.” A yelp came from him when something sprang up from under the bones and took the form of a giant pillbug that had crawled out and proceeded to latch onto Hige’s leg.  
  
Tsume winced slightly when a surprised yelp came from his sister who ducked behind him, watching the tan wolf hurriedly throw the bug off his leg so it hit a nearby boulder as Eri and Toboe scrambled away.  
  
Shrill screeching rippled in the air as a large number of pillbugs surged out from hiding to encircle the wolves.  
  
“ **There’s millions of them**!” Toboe and the girls cried in chorus.  
  
Hearing Cheza yelp when one of the bugs snuck up to bite her back, Nikki yanked it off and stomped on it with both boots, “Kiba, get her out of here!” She barked as she twisted to kick away another pillbug that flew at the pup nearby who was stomping on a bug of his own.  
  
“Kiba!” Tsume called as he had located the high ledge first, catching said wolf’s attention before he tossed the girl up to his waiting arms.  
  
Kiba ducked in time as she smacked another bug away, straightening as their stares met for a second that felt like hours, before he broke away to slap a stray pillbug from flying at her when she wasn’t looking.  
  
Nikki smiled wryly at him and whistled sharply to call the four to them, looking up as Tsume dropped to land at her right, as they faced the remainder of the swarm.  
  
Tsume smirked at the impending brawl, “are wolves gonna lose to a bunch of bugs?”  
  
“At least we both like the scent of flowers,” Toboe said lightly.  
  
Hige laughed slightly, “nicely said, runt.”  
  
“I didn’t think I’d hate bugs so much, until today.” Eri huffed.  
  
“This is so therapeutic,” Nikki smiled excitedly.  
  
Kiba shared in her enthusiasm, “here they come.”

Looking at the ensnared pillbugs that were being gnawed on by the scattered plants, Nikki tilted her head. “I’ve only heard of these plants, thought they died out years ago…” she mused.  
  
“This one heard them, they said they were hungry.” Cheza explained with a weak smile.  
  
Tsume shared in his sister’s curiosity, “so they’re bug-eating plants…”  
  
“I guess we were saved by Cheza’s friends, who knew?” Hige smiled elatedly.  
  
Toboe called back to them from further along the tunnel, “guys, there’s light up ahead; it’s a way out!” He took off with Eri shortly at his heels and Hige at the tail.  
  
Tsume surprised both white and black wolves when he lifted the girl into his arms, giving a nod to the second wolf. “Don’t take too long.” He advised before turning to follow the younger wolves' leave.  
  
Nikki smiled wryly and shook her head as her significant other wiped some blood from his cheek and exhaled as she mused, “I think he’s starting to like you. He’s never done that before.”  
  
“Or he actually approves… kinda hard to tell with him,” Kiba nodded, earning a soft chuckle as green held onto blue, “sorry, about earlier.” He added quietly as he stepped towards her.  
  
“The mighty alpha shows humility… I think the world really _is_ gonna end,” Nikki huffed in mild surprise as he stepped up to her, quieting when he ducked a little to capture her lips in a kiss, distinctly feeling her knees weaken at the apology in his gesture as her fingers clung to the lapels of his jacket.  
  
Kiba smiled and curled his fingers in her hair, swearing he heard a groan in her throat as her hands left his jacket to hug his neck, drawing away a bit to regard the fond light in her eyes that made his smile linger, "it might, but not today, princess."  
  
Fingers lightly curling in the shaggy locks at his nape, Nikki smiled and mused, "admit I'm right all the time and the world's never gonna end."  
  
Kiba puffed at that before kissing her forehead, lowering her hands in his to keep one as they followed their friends' leave. "I think the jury's on the fence about _that_ …" he smiled innocently when she shot him a look.


	12. No Angels I

Eri bristled a bit and grumbled at hearing wolf whistles from a few of the men they passed, “you would think they'd never seen the opposite sex walking around…”  
  
“I’ve dealt with worse dogs than them… don’t let it get to you.” Nikki huffed as she looked at the other she-wolf.  
  
She found with mild irritation that the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach had yet to go away. Why did she feel so uneasy, anyway? It wasn’t because of the humans, but maybe it was something else… she wasn’t sure what.  
  
Something was coming and she _didn’t_ want to find out what it was.  
  
“…That’s not the only reason you’re excited, is it, runt?” Hige’s voice drew her from her thoughts, causing her to halt and look back at the boys to see the pup held in a headlock by said pudgy wolf who smiled cheekily as he added, “especially because tonight’s…”  
  
Eri blinked and looked to their alpha, “another full moon?”  
  
“Already?” Nikki wondered.  
  
Kiba nodded and she could see he too was excited if the twinkle in his eyes was anything to go by, smirking and observing, “you look surprised.”  
  
Nikki’s cheeks warmed at his bemusement and she shrugged, “it’s just… it doesn’t feel like it’s been four months, since we left Freeze City.” Granted it only felt like that because of Cheza.  
  
“I know we’re excited because we get our strength from the full moon, but what about Cheza?” Toboe piped up from managing to squirm free of Hige’s grip, looking at said girl who had paused and turned to them, adding, “she looks like she’s glowing, too!”  
  
Kiba’s hand reflexively found his mate’s as he informed them, “I once heard that at one time of the year on the night of a full moon the flowers will hear the moon’s call and return to Paradise.”  
  
“You’re not saying…” Tsume started in some measure of disbelief, looking at their alpha with a raised brow.  
  
“Seriously?” Eri wondered even as her heart started to race at the thought.  
  
Toboe looked at the older wolves, “is that what’s gonna happen?”  
  
“She’s going to bloom?” Hige almost snorted in something akin to likewise disbelief.  
  
Cheza smiled innocently at the wolves as she admitted, “this one is excited, too!”

The unease she had experienced had fled when the girl had started dancing, and it was virtually nothing more than a distant memory when a path of lunar flowers that led into the far horizon appeared before their very eyes.  
  
She felt hope, for the first time in years, hope that their pack waited for them there… that Paradise was at the end of the path.  
  
A familiar shrill buzzing cut into the night air like a hot knife, tearing her attention away from following the girl down the path, surprising the others as they too had stopped at hearing that noise until the pack looked up at the sky where the buzzing was coming from. The dot that had scarred the blue face of the moon now descended before the pack, taking the form of a small airship, the buzzing noise quieted by the time it touched down.  
  
Bristling angrily even as tears stung at the bottom of her eyes, the black wolf recognized the human who stood there when the ship door opened, recognizing him by his stench alone.  
  
_This was the bastard who had stolen Cheza back in Freeze City_.  
  
There was a smug look on his handsome face that both she-wolves immediately loathed before the man drawled, “the wolves again… it’s been a long time.”  
  
“That stench… he’s a noble?” Tsume demanded as he, like his sister, bristled.  
  
“What’re you doing here?” Kiba demanded coldly.  
  
The noble snidely regarded the disgruntled pack with his good eye, “was your little dream pleasant, I wonder; the one where you were going to Paradise?” He asked them as he watched them stiffen at the assumption, descending down the small ramp of the ship; he looked at the trembling girl that was shielded by both she-wolves and finished, “the time hasn’t come for that yet… return to me, Cheza.”  
  
“Your pedigree doesn’t entitle you to _everything!”_ Nikki snarled before stiffening slightly when Kiba flew at the noble only to bounce back when he collided with an invisible force field that protected him.  
  
“It’s useless.” The noble’s smirk widened a degree as the force field countered the snarling wolf’s lunge, sending a wide red beam screaming at his footing and narrowly missing when its target dodged in time, watching another beam fly for the footing of the pup.  
  
“Toboe!” Hige exclaimed as he raced to the pup’s side before he too was sent flying when another beam struck.  
  
Eri winced when the ground trembled from the impact and cried, “ **Hige**!”  
  
The stink of spilled blood filled the air as Cheza’s pained scream caused the black, white and two gray wolves to sprint for the noble. The oncoming laser broke in three directions when they split up, one hitting Tsume first before the second hit Kiba, as the third chased both Nikki and Eri as they sprinted for the ship.  
  
White noise filled Eri’s ears when the laser struck the ground inches in front of her, sending her flying.  
  
Nikki had bounced back in time and landed expertly, regarding the felled she-wolf nearby before snarling at the noble. She perked up when seeing Kiba straighten from where he had hit the ground, meeting his gaze that swept the ugly scene and nodded slightly before they both raced for the noble at top speed.  
  
Twin laser beams streaked at the oncoming wolves and formed into one larger beam as the noble smirked ruefully at their reckless charge, before the beam struck the ground less than a yard away from the couple and sent them both flying yards away.  
  
The noble smirked ruefully before something sharp streaked past his right cheek and grazed it, and he looked at the ship when a soft ‘ _thunk’_ alerted him to the small knife that had been vainly thrown at him.  
  
A snarl sounded as the mismatched couple flew at the noble again before the force field repelled both wolves and knocked them back.  
  
Warm blood dripped from some place above his left eye as the white wolf staggered to his feet, looking at the equally-battered black wolf who had landed not two yards away from him.  
  
He roughly shoved away the fear of her death as he limped to her side, taking heart when she stiffly cracked open her silver eyes before he growled at her effort to get up, ordering, ‘ _don’t move so much…’_  
  
_‘No, I’m fine, I just_ …’ the black wolf protested before looking away at seeing the girl walk towards the airship. _‘Cheza!_ ’ She straightened as best she could before they both limped to stop her from going further.  
  
Cheza’s gaze softened at their tenacity and she kneeled to hug both wolves around the neck, feeling the she-wolf bury her muzzle in her shoulder.  
  
_‘Don’t go_ …’ Kiba pleaded quietly.  
  
Nikki felt hot tears slowly run down her dirtied face as she supplied, _‘we’re not afraid to die, Cheza… please stay_.’  
  
“This one knows, that is why it is all right… this one will protect the both of you.” Cheza promised quietly as she held on a bit tighter to both wolves for a second longer.  
  
A mutual feeling of loss and hopelessness washed over the two wolves as Cheza drew away to say her goodbye to their pack, and her back seemed smaller when she reluctantly boarded the airship.


	13. Making Me Blue

“Looks broken.”  
  
“No, it’s just out of place,” she drew away and pondered for a moment, “I remember Mum saying something once about all you gotta do is pull to get the bone back in place…”  
  
He quelled a wince at the idea and shuffled away as he reminded, “you’re not exactly in good shape at the moment, brat, so I’m not lettin’ you near my arm…”  
  
“Tsume,” she rubbed her neck gingerly and looked up at him through one brown eye as she reasoned, “you won’t run good if you don’t let her set it.”  
  
Outnumbered by both females, the gray wolf exhaled shortly and sat back down, “don’t look so smug.” He warned them both despite his scowl meant moreso for the younger.  
  
Kiba straightened from seeing that the two younger males were resting well– the older between the two was snoring like a bear so he felt they were fine— and padded over to join the remaining trio.  
  
He winced when hearing the noticeable crack of bone and hissed curse that came from Tsume, sitting down by the younger wolf and musing as his gaze rested on their resident nurse, “wondering if I should worry about her forcefulness…”  
  
Eri chuckled wryly and offered, “I would, but then again I’m not you.” She patted his shoulder before suggesting to his mate, “maybe ya should see if Kiba needs any bones reset _too,_ Nikki…”  
  
Nikki caught the sore look the named wolf shot at the younger female and giggled as she remarked, “he looks fine to me, E.”  
  
"Both of ya give it a break," Tsume advised, rolling his eyes at their ganging up on the reputed-fearless leader as he rubbed his arm.  
  
“You should’ve wired his jaw shut in the process,” Eri griped with a look shot over at the older male, giving a squeak when he helped her up from the felled piece of low-bearing steel and offering, “Tsume I’m sorry…”  
  
“C'mon, pipsqueak, get some shut-eye or you're gonna stay short forever.” Tsume advised dryly as he decided to let his sister rest, ushering the younger female away by his hands on her shoulders.  
  
Nikki watched the gray wolves leave with a confused expression, looking at her bemused mate and asking for sanity's sake, “what just happened?”  
  
“I’m trying to figure it out myself, but… looks like love.” Kiba shrugged as he met her gaze, shuffling a bit to let her take Eri's seat on the steel beam, chuckling at the slight furrow of her brow at the sight and adding thoughtfully, “strange as it is.”  
  
“I’ve seen stranger,” Nikki sighed softly as she gave a shake of the head, regarding the dirt and bits of dried blood on his paler skin and asking, “pointless as it's gonna sound, you okay?”  
  
_Someone had to worry about him right?_  
  
Kiba quieted and glanced up at the high windows of their warehouse as he noted more to himself, “the moon was red… I’ve only seen a red moon once before.”  
  
Nikki lifted a hand to touch his cheek where a cut was mending, smiling for him when he took her hand and looked on their hands before she rested her head on his shoulder. "You've got that look on your face again," she mused.  
  
"Can't blame me, can you?" Kiba puffed, tracing his thumb over the indentation between her index and middle finger, looking on her as she quieted whatever she was going to say to that. He released her hand if only to lift her chin with the same as she met his gaze, regarding the soft and sad light in her blue eyes before he caught her lips in a kiss.  
  
Nikki relaxed a bit at his effort to make up, curling her fingers in his jacket and shirt collar as she reciprocated warmly, smiling again when hearing him inhale before he pressed against her with his fingers digging into her waist.  
  
Kiba moved his hands to sit her on his lap, hearing her slight squeak and drawing away for a moment to chuckle at the girly noise that escaped his tomboy she-wolf, keeping her rooted to his lap by his hands at her hips.  
  
"Oh shut up," Nikki growled softly, cheeks rosy at being made fun of as well as being in his lap, pouting a bit as she rocked back on her rear to look on him.  
  
"Make me, princess." Kiba taunted coolly, fingers digging into her hips when she leered at him only for him to knock her back on the floor with some gentility, green eyes smug when she grumped underneath him. "Figured as such…" He hummed in victory.  
  
A soft growl came from his mate that cut him off mid-gloat and she flipped him so he was on the floor, her hands pinning him by their grip on his belly. "Sorry, didn't hear ya from up here, hotshot." Nikki purred lightly.  
  
Kiba pouted up at her, causing her smug look to falter with a giggle, resigning to his fate and letting his head hit the cold floor. "Very funny, babe, completely hysterical," he praised with a mock chuckle.  
  
"' _Babe'_... that's a new one," she appraised with a wise nod, shifting a bit from straddling his waist to sit back on her heels and cock her head down at him.  
  
"You hate it?" He wondered curiously, for a moment having cursed Hige for the word choice.  
  
"It's actually cute," she shrugged, smiling on him before she shuffled to lay down at his side, voicing a quiet groan at the cold floor feeling good on her back.  
  
The chosen pair lay in silence for what felt like centuries before he broke it, surprising her if for a moment.  
  
"You told me once about a memory you had, when your pack was killed." Kiba declared quietly, hearing her mumble to encourage him to go on, smiling wryly at having her attention.  
  
Looking at the high ceiling, he then told her what had happened when he was small, how his pack had died and left him alone in the world… he looked at her closed eyes with his smile softening a bit at assuming she had fallen asleep.  
  
"Explains why you were so grumpy when we first met." Nikki mused, voice soft and bemused, smiling when she felt his mild look rest on her.  
  
Opening her eyes to look at the long steel bars keeping the ceiling's frame together, she added with the lingering soft tone, "but I get it… I don't know if it was fate or life cuttin' either of us slack for the things we've seen, but I'm glad I met you, Kiba."  
  
Kiba turned slightly, the aches from the fight in the desert reminding him to not move so much, when she shuffled and inched closer to curl up in his side, curling his fingers in her hair. "I'm glad, too, Nik… and I'm sorry, about tonight." He apologized in a quiet tone.  
  
Nikki nodded and ignored the slight bristle at the back of her neck regarding Cheza, kissing his neck and feeling him twitch a bit as she kissed again and again, smiling when his free hand tugged on her calf.  
  
"You dragging me by the tail into life-threatening situations has turned into a daily thing at this point, dummy…" she trailed off when he pulled her closer to kiss her deeply, a smile crossing her lips that moved against his albeit gently as Kiba leaned over her and caused her to lie on her back again.  
  
Drawing away for a moment as the question came to mind, Kiba regarded the arousal in her eyes and he breathed, "you're trying to cheer me up, aren't you?" His instincts cursed him for pausing in doing what he'd wanted to do to her for weeks.  
  
"Maybe…?" Nikki shrugged innocently, a canine showing in her smile as her fingers that had found the shaggy locks at the back of his head fiddled with them, a giggle rising in her throat when he gave her a mild look before he ducked down to silence her.

Frustrated with the overall lack of motivation around him, Hige looked at his pack and stated, “look, I’m just as shocked as you guys, but that’s not gonna help us figure out what the hell to do now! Are we just gonna mope around for the rest of our lives? Someone say something! Kiba, neither you or Nikki have said a word since all this happened…”  
  
Eri was first to snap at him, “Hige!”  
  
“Drop it, Porky.” Tsume agreed with a sharp tone.  
  
Toboe quickly piped up, “yeah, Kiba and Nikki were hurt the most, remember?”  
  
"Since shit _already_ hit the fan, Hige's right." Nikki pointed out, sitting up from lying near Kiba to scowl at her pack and continue, “we need to get her back… that asshole just waltzed in and took her away like before, so if anything, I've got first dibs on tearing his throat out.”  
  
Nodding slightly despite the rueful smirk at his lover's grumpiness, Kiba started to agree when shouting came from outside of their warehouse, his ears twitching as they heard the noise approaching.  
  
A blur of black then dashed into the open doorway and skidded to a halt with dust flying from their run before the dust settled to reveal the familiar wolf-dog, surprising the pack. The black dog’s form changed to that of a girl near identical to the older she-wolf save her hair was wilder and her eyes were a clear blue.  
  
“Wow, what a babe!” Hige said with a goofy grin in place.  
  
Nikki deadpanned before her ears perked as the half-breed’s three pursuers came into the warehouse.  
  
Eri bristled and glanced at Tsume as he slightly shuffled to protect her.  
  
“She’s got friends.” The middle thug in a suit hummed.  
  
Hige nearly flew in to defend the new wolf, prompting a look from the other two females, as he asked bravely, “and what’s it to ya?”  
  
“Hand over the girl.” The second suit-wearing thug ordered.  
  
“And why should we?” Hige demanded as the second thug had seemed to take note of their females.  
  
White-suit nodded to both black-suit and beanie-boy to advance on the pack, remarking coolly, “you brats aren’t from around here, I can see… that bitch is our merchandise, but now that I’m lookin’ at you, I think we struck gold. Right boys?” He eyed the black wolf from toe to head before doing the same to the light-gray wolf as his friends shared a chuckle.  
  
“Was that supposed to be a compliment?” Eri wondered sweetly, both she and Nikki having shared a look to come to the same conclusion.  
  
Nikki smirked as she stepped from around Kiba's shield to approach white-suit and drawl in the same sweet voice, “sounds like it! Boys, as much as we hate to break it to ya, you’ve caught us in a _bad mood…!”_ She kicked him square in the groin, causing him to drop to his knees with a yell before swearing colorfully.  
  
“Bitch!” The black-suit snarled as he and the beanie-wearing thug rushed the black wolf.  
  
Eri swung her left leg out to trip black-suit and knock him down, a likewise smirk on her face as she sang, “oops!”  
  
“Looks like you dumbasses struck out!” Tsume scoffed as he knocked beanie-boy away when the shorter man tried to jump Eri, rolling his shoulders to shake off the stubborn kinks.  
  
Kiba sprang on white-suit when he regained his bearings and rushed Nikki, pinning him as Hige had pinned black-suit and Tsume pinned beanie-boy, teeth bared when white-suit focused on what he was. He snapped his teeth as the third thug screamed something about the ‘ _Curse of the House of Darcia’_ , causing his prey to flinch.  
  
He then led the way out of the warehouse at a sprint and heard the six wolves shortly follow.

Tsume laughed, “did you see the looks on their faces?”  
  
“That was so cool, you guys!” Toboe said as he looked at the two she-wolves.  
  
Kiba looked to his lover from sitting on a slab of concrete as he agreed with the pup, “that’s one way to snap out of it.”  
  
Nikki smiled shyly at the amused curve of his lips before elbowing him, wondering between joining him on his slab, "you good?" She received a nod.  
  
“Are **you** all right?” Hige wondered of the new she-wolf.  
  
Said female nodded with a small smile, “yeah, thanks for the help.” She looked at the other she-wolves.  
  
“We didn’t do it for _you,_ y’know… they just caught us in a bad mood, that’s all.” Tsume huffed as he scowled at her.  
  
Hige made a face as he defended, “she was just thanking us; don’t be so hard on her, it’s not like we meet new girls every time, y’know… oh yeah, I’m Hige!” He turned to her with a bright smile.  
  
“My name’s Blue.” She smiled back before looking at the four as she asked, “guess it’s been a while, huh?”  
  
Eri perked up as she and Hige shared a confused look before she asked the quartet, namely Tsume, "hang on a sec, you know her?"  
  
Kiba shrugged as he glanced at the new she-wolf and answered first, “something like that.”  
  
“You did some really crappy things to us with that human,” Tsume put in with a sore look meant for Blue.  
  
Nikki gave both males a look before stepping down to properly greet the half-wolf, “ignore those two… they're asses when they meet a new face. The name’s Nikki; the fearless moron is Kiba, and the grumpy asshat is my older brother, Tsume.”  
  
“ **Since when are you so nice**?” Hige, Kiba and Tsume demanded flatly in chorus.  
  
“Shut your asses!” Nikki snapped annoyedly as she glared at the three of them.  
  
Eri barely hid a laugh at the trio's general sore look meant for the black wolf, shrugging when Blue looked her way for a measure of an explanation, "they do that a lot, it's no big deal."  
  
Blue nodded along and caught the pup’s confused look before laughing quietly and saying to the six, “well anyway, thanks for helping.”  
  
“Um, that old guy you were with… where is he?” Toboe piped up as he looked to her.  
  
“Oh yeah, him… well, something happened and we split up.” Blue explained albeit lamely, glancing away.  
  
Kiba piped up, “he was still tracking us in the last town we were in.”  
  
Blue nodded and looked elsewhere again, “I know he was… Pops would track down a wolf to the ends of the earth.”  
  
Eri slightly tilted her head and asked her, “but you’ve got wolf blood, too, don't you?”  
  
“Hey, isn’t that girl with you guys? The one you were traveling with… she had a, well, a strange scent.” Blue asked hopefully as she changed topic.  
  
Toboe blinked once in surprise, “’ _A girl’_ … you mean Cheza?”  
  
Hige popped in before the melancholy could surmount again, smiling cheesily at the new female and suggesting, “oh _that,_ well let’s just not talk about it! Why don’t we look for some food; we only just bumped into each other, y’know, and in this town it’s kinda dangerous for a girl on her own…”  
  
“Fat chance, _Porky!_ ” Tsume scoffed, causing said pudgy wolf to flinch.  
  
“And. why. not?” Hige hissed between gritted teeth.  
  
Ignoring the death glare, Tsume explained flatly as he folded his arms at his chest, “like I’d run with her; she did everything she could to hunt us down.”  
  
“You weren’t the one she helped chase down,” Toboe agreed with a wise nod when the protesting wolf looked to the rest of them for some sort of aid.  
  
Blue shook her head and smirked ruefully, “it’s fine, I wouldn’t want to hang with a bunch of pups anyway. See you around,” she looked to both she-wolves before leaving them with her hands in her overcoat pockets.  
  
“H-hey, they’re just bein’ a little cold! Wait up!” Hige exclaimed before he scampered off after her.  
  
“He’ll come back, Toboe, don’t worry,” Eri assured the named pup when he called after the lovestruck wolf, shaking her head.  
  
Kiba nodded slightly when the pup looked at them and he supplied, “when we were back in that last town, Cheza told her that she was half-wolf.”  
  
“’ _Half-wolf’?_ ” Toboe echoed.  
  
Nikki added with a small smile, “that part of her must've reacted when she met Cheza.” She then looked to her brother and asked, “but what’s with _you?_ Can’t honestly still be pissed about what happened in the dome, can you…?”  
  
“I’m surprised _you’re_ not; you were pretty pissed when her pet shot Kiba. Again.” Tsume remarked with a puff, nodding at the mentioned wolf.  
  
“Well he’s not here with her, Tsume. Blue looked sincere about meeting Cheza, and maybe she _would've_ if your big mouth hadn't started running. Again.” Eri defended first as she hopped up to his place at the top of the mound, giving him a look before sitting with him.  
  
Tsume closed his mouth, scowling at the fact that both females had outnumbered him again, and looked elsewhere with a defeated puff as he mused, “I think you’re hanging with my sister too much, considering that stunt you two just pulled.”  
  
Kiba smirked and agreed as both females shared a smug smile, “it’s almost scary… almost.”  
  
Nikki plonked down with him as she had returned to his slab and lamented, “it hasn't been easy being the only girls around. Do you have any idea how _exhausting_ it’s been keeping you two from tearing into each other when you butt heads?”  
  
“Now you understand what **I** went through keeping your ass alive, growing up…” Tsume retorted coolly, ducking when she threw a tattered sneaker at his head and shooting her a look as he sniffed, "you missed."  
  
Flicking his ear, Eri grinned lightly and gauged his sore look as she remarked, "but I didn't!"

A breeze blew across the outlook.  
  
Kiba glanced at his other half to regard the worry that darkened her blue eyes when she thought he wasn’t looking, bumping her hip with his as he quietly assured her, “we’ll get her back.”  
  
“I know we will…” Nikki exhaled softly as her shoulders hunched a bit and she looked ahead, “I just, I can’t shake this anxiety that I felt, the night he took her,” she confessed.  
  
She half-expected him to assure her that they were going to be fine, that she was worrying about nothing…  
  
But that wasn’t what she got. “Makes two of us, then.” Kiba puffed quietly, acknowledging the slight surprise in her eyes that looked up at him as he admitted in the same quiet tone, "I lost enough before we met, but I'm not about to lose you, too.”  
  
The horrible thought of losing her scared him to his core, of losing the she-wolf who had stolen his heart and made him trust in a pack again, and he would never forgive himself for it.  
  
“Kiba…” she began before quieting and leaning into his right side as she murmured knowingly, “I’m not going anywhere, remember?”  
  
His green eyes softened as he chuckled quietly, “'course not, islands barely budge… and _you're_ no exception.” He smirked when her elbow jabbed him in the ribs in return.  
  
“… _‘Paradise_ ’ huh?” Blue wondered thoughtfully behind them, drawing the couple back to reality.  
  
Hige answered matter-of-factly before looking at her, “we’re all trying to make our way to Paradise… it’s something every wolf has to try and do. You’re going with us to find it, aren’t you, Blue?”  
  
Blue shrugged, “sounds tempting, but I can’t go.”  
  
“Then I’m not going either.” Hige stated as he looked elsewhere.  
  
Nikki rolled her eyes when Kiba glanced at her, offering as they both turned to their pack, “it’d be safer if you stuck around the humans, Blue… if that’s what you’re worried about.”  
  
Kiba agreed despite the distraught look on the tan wolf’s face, “Nik’s right, it’s not too late to turn back.”  
  
“What the hell’re you _saying,_ guys…?” Hige asked incredulously.  
  
Blue shook her head as she confessed, “but I have no intention of going back, not to the way I was… not now. I just need to find out what I really am.”  
  
Excited about having another girl present, Eri stepped off the outlook's edge to smile at Blue as she said, “so come with us… we can go to Paradise, together.”  
  
Nikki smiled in spite of her earlier doubt, agreeing as she stuck her hands in her coat pockets, “Eri’s right… since you're so set against goin' back, all you can do is keep going.”  
  
“The girls are right, all you can do is move forward! Right… right?” Hige agreed as he jumped up like if he had suddenly gotten an epiphany.  
  
It was Kiba’s turn to roll his eyes.  
  
Tsume snorted quietly as both he and Kiba saw right through the other male like if he were made of glass, “ _sure_ let's go with that, Porky.”  
  
“If only Cheza was here… ow!” Toboe muttered before he was lightly whacked by the named wolf.  
  
Hige made a face, “thought I told you not to say that…" he then pointed south and said excitedly, "all righty, _on to Paradise…!_ ”  
  
“We’re headed **west** , you ham!” Nikki cut into his enthusiastic exclamation with ease, nodding in the intended direction when all eyes looked to she and Kiba.  
  
Eri raised a brow and commented, “but Paradise isn’t in that direction.”  
  
“ _Darcia’s keep_ is.” Kiba stated calmly.  
  
Catching onto the chosen duo's thought before the others did, Tsume frowned and reminded flatly, “she left us on her own, remember? That creepy asshole will be there, too… we might actually get killed this time.”  
  
“Cheza left to protect us, and she’s waiting there. Don’t worry about him, either, dear brother… but you're welcome to stay behind if you're that worried over me.” Nikki assured as she smirked over at him, half-wondering if he could read her mind… not that she doubted he could.  
  
Ears perking at the cocky edge in her voice, Tsume returned the smirk as he scoffed, retorting, “like I said, you’re nuts if y'think I’m letting you go it alone, baby sister.”


	14. Heathens

Regarding the younger she-wolf who was seated with the pup and wolf-dog, he looked to his sister who sat closest to with him in an effort to keep warm as they awaited the blizzard's passing in their temporary shelter.  
  
The gray wolf looked to their alpha who stood facing the snowy world at the mouth of their makeshift cave and stated if only to ease his sister's worry, “the sun will be up soon, we should rest until then.”  
  
The tan wolf looked to the white wolf with hope as he added in, “what d'you say, Kiba? The storm will die down by morning…”  
  
“It already has.” The named wolf corrected quietly, throwing the remaining trio off for a second, before looking at them and assuring, “c'mon, it’ll be fine.”  
  
“Well none of **us** will be!” Tsume said pointedly, scowling when amber met green, and he glanced at his sister before adding, “try using your head for once. You’re gonna storm the keep, half-assed knowing you, and drag my kid sister along… _again_. Just remember that if anything happens to her you’re gonna answer to me.”  
  
“Then I’m going on ahead… 'sides, she's capable of thinking for herself, and you know it.” Kiba retorted flatly, bristling at the implication before shifting his scowl to the snowstorm.  
  
Didn’t Tsume know that he didn’t want to lose her, either?  
  
Eri stood to her feet and scowled slightly at the two males as Nikki shook her head, “you're both being overprotective idiots, again, y'know that?”  
  
“Never mind that we can handle a little snowstorm, too.” Blue put in with a huff as she stood, earning an agreement from Toboe who also jumped up.  
  
Hige remained seated as he scowled over at their alpha, “well I’m not going anywhere until morning.”  
  
“Suit yourself.” Nikki half-sighed as she stood to straighten out her coat, stepping up to Kiba's side. Regarding the irritated look on her brother's face, she puffed and added to him, “see you at the keep.” Looking away as Kiba was first out of their shelter, she shortly followed to hit the ground running.

Pale face brightening at their arrival, Cheza beamed and said, “Kiba, Nikki!” She started running to the wolves’ safety.  
  
Nikki relaxed a bit at seeing her unhurt, ears perking when something dark moved and streaked after the girl. “ _Cheza!”_ She barked alertly when the noble snatched her from the floor by the back of the neck and made her cry out in surprise and pain.  
  
“Put her down!” Kiba snarled angrily.  
  
The noble regarded the bristling couple through his mismatched eyes, one they recognized as a wolf’s gold eye, gauging their responses before he threw the girl away so she hit a black post and crumpled to the floor.  
  
Kiba raced forward and lunged for his neck before the sound of metal hitting flesh erupted into the electrified air. He bounced away and turned to glare up at the noble, having gotten away with his head save a thin cut on his right cheek, regarding the cut on the left side of the man's face as they coldly regarded each other.  
  
“So, wolf, you’ve come for revenge.” Darcia said.  
  
_‘You will not hurt her again!_ ’ Kiba growled out, slightly perking up when a streak of black zipped past his right side.  
  
Nikki winced slightly when the noble grabbed a fistful of her scruff, her attempt to tear his head off halted, and tossed her away so she hit the floor.  
  
“And you brought your meddlesome she-wolf with you, I see.” Darcia added with disgust, glaring at the angered wolves and asking, “I don’t understand why you attacked because of Cheza. She was a being _we_ created, the embodiment of a lunar flower… why do you want her back?”  
  
‘ _Neither of us really know what you nobles are or what you’re trying to do… and frankly, we don’t give a rat’s ass. **Cheza** is all that matters, she’s the one who’s gonna show us the way to Paradise!’_ Nikki huffed as she bared her teeth.  
  
Lip curling in anger, Darcia spat, “you damn wolves; all of this began with your accursed kind.” He swung his sword when Kiba flew at him.  
  
As Kiba was sharply punted away and thrown off, a snarl sounded when Nikki dove in another attempted to rip a new one on the noble’s face. She narrowly avoiding being gutted as she bounced away to regard the noticeable cut on his already-scratched cheek, bristling before she rushed again and went for his throat.  
  
A snarl of pain came from Darcia when he raised his free arm to stop her and caught her sharp teeth that sank into his wrist. He regarded the furious fire in her silver eyes and paused for a moment before saying thoughtfully, “I’ve seen those same eyes once before, under a red moon…” he flexed his grip on the sword hilt.  
  
‘ _ **No**!’_ Kiba exclaimed when a sharp yelp of pain came from the she-wolf who was thrown off and landed on her side feet away. He glared at the noble before rushing to her side as she started to get back up with a growl of anger. _‘Don’t overexert yourself, you’re still bleeding,_ ’ he ordered quietly.  
  
‘ _It’s just a flesh wound…’_ Nikki growled back, glancing at the floor as crimson dripped from her left shoulder.  
  
“It’s because of you and your breed… you stole everything from me! And in return I was given a curse, and grief, and suffering… my left eye, changed into one like yours, is the price I paid for being cursed by Paradise. All that surrounds me now is despair.” Darcia stated dismally as his sword lowered to point at the girl’s unguarded throat.  
  
_‘Wait, don’t!’_ Nikki exclaimed.  
  
‘ _What do you want?’_ Kiba growled.  
  
Darcia didn’t look at the two as he asked, “have you found it yet… Paradise?”  
  
‘ _We will…_ ’ Kiba started.  
  
_‘…No matter what!’_ finished Nikki.  
  
“And what do you expect to find there?”  
  
_‘ **A future**!’_ The two wolves answered in unison.  
  
“… _‘A future’?”_  
  
‘ _Not hope, or despair, just a future… nothing more or less.’_ Kiba stated quietly.  
  
Darcia had a despairing look on his face as he looked up, “I no longer desire for a future.”  
  
Both wolves tensed where they stood before a shot rang out in the large hall and made them both jump back as the bullet struck the floor where Kiba had stood.  
  
Nikki relaxed if only a bit from being shielded by her mate as they both glared at the old hunter. Briefly looking at the human couple that had accompanied the hunter and rushed to Cheza’s side, her ears perked as the hunter reloaded to aim at Kiba. “ _No!”_ She cried.  
  
“Don’t!” A second female exclaimed before Blue leapt in and appeared as if from thin air, standing between the wolves and her pet.  
  
“Blue?” Kiba said in surprise.  
  
“Kiba!”  
  
“Nikki!”  
  
Both named wolves looked to see Eri, Hige, Toboe, and Tsume had come with her.  
  
The oldest of the trio looked to his sister with a bleeding shoulder, otherwise relieved she was alive… he would have to thank Blue when he got the chance.  
  
Kiba looked at his mate with concern as she gingerly held her left arm to her chest, “your shoulder…”  
  
“I’ve had worse, Kiba, I'm okay,” Nikki assured gently with a smile meant for him. She winced when a loud crash sounded, looking to a wide red laser that shot down through the high ceiling and then divided the room in half. “ **Cheza**!” She cried before wincing again when another laser struck the room from above.  
  
Kiba snatched her out of the way of the blast radius, holding fast to her waist when they both landed gingerly on more stable floor near their pack and looked for Cheza.  
  
“Blue!” Hige called when seeing said she-wolf wasn’t with them.  
  
“Kiba, let’s go!” Tsume ordered before leading their exit out of the room at a sprint.  
  
Nikki closed her eyes tight at the guilt and flashes of pain, taking Kiba's hand in hers before they followed her brother's lead.

_Why was he so damn stubborn!?_  
  
“ _Kiba!”_ Cheza cried as they were being lifted into the ship by a basket.  
  
Nikki ran as fast as she could in his wake, pretending her injured shoulder didn’t protest to her exertion, watching with a measure of horror as the named wolf leapt at one of the baskets to attack the soldiers in it before he was thrown down and then hit the ground running. She groaned at his attempt, continuing to follow his lead after the fleeing airships. “ _Kiba!”_ She called.  
  
She was only a short ways behind him when a pair of strong arms snatched her by the waist from behind, causing her to yelp in surprise before she squirmed and snarled in the familiar grip, shouting, “l-let me go, Tsume! I have to help him…!”  
  
“I’m not letting you get killed for him!” Tsume shouted back despite wincing when she clawed at his arms to try and worm her way free.  
  
Hot tears ran down her cheeks as she helplessly watched the white wolf get further and further away.  
  
_“ **KIBA**!”_


	15. Believers I

“Your shoulder's still bleeding.”  
  
“So what? I've gotta go find him.”  
  
Brow twitching at her tenacity, the gray wolf briefly glanced at their packmates before grumbling an oath and striding after her when she started walking off in the direction of the airships, “damn it, brat…” He grabbed a fistful of her coat and dragged her back.  
  
“I said I was fine, Tsume! **Let go**!” The black wolf protested when being snagged by him again, shaking off the coat and grimacing as she instantly regretted it when the cold latched onto her mending shoulder, taking off at a run.  
  
A yelp came from her when her brother grabbed hold of her tail between his teeth, and she growled in defeat as he pulled her to a halt.  
  
Frustrated tears started to darken her eyes as she rounded on him and exclaimed, “I still have to find him…!”  
  
“ **Enough, Nikole**!” He shouted over her, seeing her flinch at hearing her name in that tone and brushing it away before continuing now that he had the floor, “you’re insane if you think for one damn second that I’m letting you leave like this. That explosion sent him off to gods-know-where for all we know, and who knows if you’d ever find him…!”  
  
The tears started to run down her cheeks as Nikki snapped angrily, _“I still have to try, Tsume!_ H-he and I, he promised me that he'd take me to Paradise with him, we promised that we would find it together… I love Kiba, and the thought of losing him just… it scares the shit out of me, okay…?” She trailed off as the whirlwind of emotions had caused a lump to sit in her throat, looking away to wipe her eyes in attempt to not sob like a toddler.  
  
Tsume sobered at her weeping and swallowed a growl at seeing the hurt and pain that plagued his sister, giving a weary exhale as he replied in a quieted voice, “I know that… neither of ya have been discreet since the day you met. And since we can’t get much of anywhere without that jackass, we’re _both_ gonna find him.” Catching the surprise in her puffy eyes as he offered her coat back, he added with a rueful smirk in attempt to cheer her up, “if not to keep goin' on this little road trip, then because I promised I'd kick his ass for making you cry.”  
  
“Tsume…” Nikki sniffled and cracked a weak smile as she took her coat back to shrug her arms through the sleeves. “I’m sorry I worried you,” she added quietly.  
  
“You wouldn't be my kid sister if you didn't do that on a daily basis.” Tsume remarked patiently, having rolled his eyes before he ruffled her hair, smirking at the pout that crossed her face.  
  
Looking away with reluctance when hearing a sniff, he regarded the younger female who had been witness to their conversation with misty brown eyes. His brow twitched as he asked, “what's with the face?”  
  
Eri shrugged innocently and admitted with a mock sniffle, “just shocked at seein’ you actually have a heart… up ‘til recent, I didn’t think you _had_ one.”  
  
Cheeks coloring slightly, Tsume snapped, “then don’t start the water-works! It’s bad enough I gotta deal with finding K… _the jackass_ who broke my sister’s heart, so don’t make this any worse than it already is, brat-zilla!”  
  
“Well excuse me for having a better emotional range than _you,_ ya colossal jerk!” Eri returned in an equally-annoyed tone, putting her fists on her hips.  
  
Toboe slightly tilted his head as both gray wolves started arguing and observed to his fellow spectators, “I think Tsume’s worried about Eri too, he just doesn’t wanna admit it…”  
  
“You're right on that, but he’s as tight-lipped as a clam when it comes to expressing his feelings.” Nikki mused with a sagely nod.  
  
Hige deadpanned at the couple's antics and agreed with a quiet scoff, “and he's enough of an ass to make fun of _me_ …”

Hige rubbed his new bump gingerly and looked between the girls as he asked, “can one of you explain how that was necessary…?”  
  
“I think cold-clocking you speaks for itself.” Eri scoffed with a sagely nod.  
  
Nikki snickered when the pudgy wolf pouted at that, agreeing, “ya forget that if anyone is gonna be an ass around here, it’s obviously Tsume.”  
  
Tsume hooked his thumbs in his pockets with determination, scowling at her over his shoulder. “Glad your bum shoulder doesn't keep ya from being your bratty self,” he said flatly, brow twitching a bit when she wiggled her fingers in a cheeky wave.  
  
“Never mind that I figured you were still pretty worried about Blue,” Eri commented as an afterthought, shifting the focus back to Hige.  
  
Hige stiffened at mention of said female and demanded hastily, “h-hey, how is this about _me_ now? I haven't said anything about her!”  
  
Nikki rolled her eyes and explained as she looked at him, “because you're clearly thinking about her, that's how. We've been friends long enough for me to know your silence speaks volumes, Hige.”  
  
Hige regarded the knowing and almost sympathetic look that crossed her pretty face, starting to open his mouth when they heard the shrill buzzing of an airship overhead. He was first to look up at the cloudy sky before they flattened themselves against the rocky wall on their left.  
  
Tsume regarded the large black ships that broke through the clouds as they flew southward and he bristled, musing grimly, “those’re the soldiers who took down Darcia’s keep… dunno which noble they belong to, though.”  
  
“Jaguara… she’s the noble who controls the south, so those have to be hers.” Hige informed with some shock at seeing the ships, regarding the curious look coming from both girls and adding hastily, “I just heard the name once, that’s all.”  
  
“I heard once that she’s a real bitch if you cross her…” Eri offered with a slight frown from her place between he and Nikki.  
  
Nikki glared up as the ships continued on to their destination oblivious of their quartet below, “regardless of whether her dogs are tough to kill or not, she’s still the bitch who took Cheza.” And the very same who had separated she and Kiba.  
  
"Those thugs in the last town we were in made it sound like she was collecting wolves… but why?” Tsume wondered at large, motioning they continue walking.  
  
The quartet continued through the red-stone pass and would have continued if a familiar howl for help didn’t sound behind them.  
  
“Toboe?” Hige was first to look back before seeing the younger she-wolf zip past him to where the missing pup was, “wait up, Eri!” He shortly followed her with the siblings at the tail.  
  
Toboe looked up at the two humans on horseback advancing on him and flinched in preparation before two snarls sounded, hesitantly looking up to see Tsume had knocked the first human off his horse and Hige had done the same to the second one, looking at the girls who stood protectively in front of him. He sighed in relief, “thanks, guys!”  
  
“Are you one of Jaguara’s dogs? Why is she hunting us… what the hell does she want?” Tsume demanded of the long-haired human he had pinned.  
  
Nikki stepped away from the two to scowl at both humans as she put in coldly, “she’s snatching wolves, so if you wanna live you'd better start talking.”  
  
“ _’Jaguara’?”_ The long-haired man started laughing, surprising the wolves, as his friend also laughed. He sobered with a last chuckle before looking up at the gray wolf, “if you’re wolves, you should’ve just said so in the first place! This is just great… the Elder’s gonna have my hide for this.”  
  
Tsume and Nikki shared a look.

Regarding the peaceful life the tribe of the human named Iyek had, humans and animals coexisting without struggle or sadness, Eri was taken aback at the sight. She had never seen anything like it, and if she were to be honest, it was almost like meeting Cheza all over again…  
  
“… You mentioned something about your belief in wolves. What’d you mean by that?” Tsume’s question drew her from noticing a dog nearby that looked more feral than tame, as he looked at their guide.  
  
Iyek raised a brow before regarding the curious look both siblings sported, explaining, “ _’what’d I mean’?_ I meant what I said, that wolves are the ancestors of every human being… except the nobles, of course.”  
  
Nikki frowned in confusion and started to ask, “but I thought the nobles were human, too…?”  
  
“Iyek. Bring our guests along, won’t you?” A new voice interrupted calmly, causing the pack to looked to the apparent Elder who stood there with his wise eyes on the younger man.  
  
Iyek nodded and ushered the wolves into the Elder’s tent, being excused by the Elder when they sat down as he didn’t need to hear the story they were about to hear.  
  
“Long ago, back when Man was still an animal, there were evil monsters that ravaged this world; Mother Earth opened the gates to Paradise and set the wolves upon the land, who fought bravely and vanquished the monsters. To the ignorant man-beasts, they taught many things… And taking a piece of their body, the wolves created humanity. This tale has been passed down in our tribe since ancient times.” The Elder said.  
  
Toboe was first to speak after there was a pause when the tale was told, asking innocently, “wait, humans were created from wolves?”  
  
The Elder nodded, “that is correct, little one; back when the world was young just as you are. When the wolves seek out Paradise, this world will come to an end, or because of their search as they make their journey home. It is unclear which will happen first. Regardless, when the wolves find it, everything in this world will cease to be…” He paused to look at the five wolves, “tell me, who first began this search? Was it you?” He looked firstly to the pup.  
  
“Was it me? No,” Toboe shook his head.  
  
“You then?” He looked to Hige.  
  
Hige also shook his head, even if it was reeling from the story, “nope.”  
  
“You?” He looked to Eri.  
  
Eri blinked once before replying kindly, “it wasn’t me.”  
  
“Was it you?” He looked to Tsume who was mulling over the story in silence.  
  
The Elder at last looked to Nikki, “you then, as you are one of the wolves chosen by Paradise to lead your kind. It was you who began this search, was it not?”  
  
Nikki smiled shyly and replied, “I'm honored that you'd think that, but I didn’t start this. The one who did, he… he’s not here.” She looked elsewhere and rubbed her bum shoulder.  
  
“So we shouldn’t try to find Paradise? If the world ends, I mean, what’ll happen to everyone else?” Eri asked curiously as she thought of her father.  
  
The Elder replied, “as to that, noone is certain. No matter where nature goes, our path is to simply follow.”


	16. Believers II

He blearily stared into the darkness, green eyes focusing on the owl who hooted at him.  
  
That strangely familiar owl…  
  
His green eyes sharpened alertly when the owl disappeared to let a wolf appear in its place. Widened eyes roving over the black-as-night wolf with silver eyes, his heart ached in his chest when he focused on the sad darkening in the wolf’s eyes… why were those eyes so familiar?  
  
‘ _You love me that much… Kiba?’_ Asked the she-wolf, warmth in her calm voice that made his ears tingle.  
  
That voice, he knew that voice! He couldn’t remember who she was, but he knew, down to his core, that she was important to him… _she just had to be!_  
  
A loud and sweet howl rang in his ears, shocking the white wolf, as the black wolf disappeared.  
  
“ **NO**!” He cried.

Seeing the resolve in his gold eyes, Tsume was first to break away and start walking, saying, “take care of yourself, then.”  
  
Eri spared the pup a final smile, however brief, before she jogged ahead of her packmates to catch up to him, “Tsume, hold on!” She scowled at the fact that he didn’t slow his pace, asking with another look back as she trotted to come to his right side, “are you sure about this? He’s still a pup, after all…”  
  
“Pretty sure. You’re more than welcome to stay with him, too, if you're that worried… I’m not gonna stop you.” Tsume cut in calmly, seeming to surprise her for a moment.  
  
"I'm not leaving!" Eri stated at his back, watching him stop to turn and look at her with a cocked brow that barely hid his hurt with the pup's leave that darkened his eyes.  
  
Having inhaled to muster her courage when having his full attention, she continued in the same stubborn tone, “seeing what I've seen with you lot, and putting up with a jerk like you, you're nuts to think I'm gonna run back home with my tail between my legs. I don't care if you still think I'm a brat you can't trust, I'm not gonna leave because you think you can get rid of me that easily…”  
  
"If it were that easy I'd have sent you back weeks ago!" Tsume cut in with some annoyance at her assumptions, watching her deflate even though the fire in her eyes lingered. He looked away for a moment before refocusing on her as he mused, "and, weird enough, you're not as much of a brat as ya were at first. If the world's actually gonna end like everyone's been saying, then you're right, and I'm sure the others would agree… so stay.”  
  
It was true that she acted like his sister, but Eri was gentler, and stubborn enough to handle whatever came her way. He hadn't met anyone like that in years, if at all, so maybe he liked having her around… maybe that was why he wanted her to stay.  
  
Fair cheeks pink as she mentally whacked herself into realizing that he said what he said, Eri inhaled again and stepped up to him, catching the curious spark in his eyes. "Then you're not as much of an ass as I thought… but you're still hopeless.” She admitted, a shy smile crossing her lips when she paused as their eyes met.  
  
"That was almost a pass, pipsqueak." Tsume sniffed as he smirked back albeit dauntingly, his thumbs hooking in his pockets again. The longer he stared at her the more he realized she wasn't pretty in the conventional sense, but it was her personality, and even her laugh, that made her attractive…  
  
“I’m shocked you two haven't made out already.” Hige commented bemusedly, causing both gray wolves to freeze and look to he and Nikki standing to the side.  
  
Nikki snorted in the same manner at the rosiness in her brother's face, teasing him, “I haven't seen you flirt in years, Tsume… guess you're not as rusty as ya thought.”  
  
“You’re both outta your minds, y'know that?” Tsume growled between his teeth, glancing at the still-blushing Eri, before he scoffed and stormed off ahead of them along the rocky path.  
  
Eri shifted her weight and glared at Hige who shortly followed Tsume, falling in step with Nikki and asking for her sanity's sake, “you two were there the whole time, weren't you…?”  
  
“Yep. Don't feel bad, though, Tsume has been nuts about you for months.” Nikki chuckled before gently hugging the younger wolf's shoulders when she blushed again, adding for her benefit, “'sides, I always wanted a sister.”

Ears perking alertly, she looked back at the way they had come as a breeze stole past them. _That howl_ …  
  
“What is it?” Tsume stopped to look at her when she halted, Hige also stopping, regarding the distant look on her face.  
  
“What’s going on?” Eri asked as she also looked at her.  
  
Nikki shook her head, “I thought I heard…” she trailed off to sniff the air when another breeze carried the scent of those soldiers, “Jaguara!” She growled the name before taking off towards the source.  
  
Tsume tailed her as she brushed past them, hearing Eri and Hige follow, being was first to bring both his sister and himself to a halt at seeing their path dropped off a ledge that looked over a deserted and dry patch of land below. His sharp eyes focused on the black armored truck that braked and shut off yards away from a large limp bush that stood alone, and he grumbled more to himself, “now what’re they after?”  
  
Regarding that two of the three soldiers exiting the truck wore lighter armor and shorter rifles whereas the third sported a tall spear and a shield, all three of the pack as inky-black as their truck, Nikki looked at the bush as her heart leapt into her throat at catching the familiar scent that blew on the wind.  
  
Eri sniffed the air and gaped slightly as she noted, “hang on, that’s…!”  
  
“Hey Tsume, you smell that…?” Hige asked alertly when he also caught it, looking at the black wolf who broke away to approach the ledge at a run and barking, “Nikki, wait!”  
  
Nikki jumped the ledge and landed expertly, looking up at her packmates above as she snapped an order, “hurry up!” She loped away towards the bush that the three soldiers were inspecting, angered tears welling and starting to blur her vision as she shifted. _Not again…!_  
  
A thundering snarl tore into the stale air as one of the smaller soldiers was barreled into by the black wolf, breaking her fall as they both hit the ground with his throat ripped open.  
  
The tallest of the trio turned on the enraged wolf and loosed a supersonic wave from his shield, missing when she bounced away in time before he was tackled by the gray wolves.  
  
Both Tsume and Eri dropped back when the tall soldier knocked them away, both wolves as pissed as their companion, before perking up when the second smaller soldier opened fire on them.  
  
Tsume, Nikki, and Eri dodged the bullets before skidding to a halt when the remaining soldiers suddenly hit the ground unconscious.  
  
“Kiba…!” Nikki declared as she was first to shake off the surprise and approach the bush, looking past the giant leaves to spot the white wolf lying there in the bush's shelter and a relieved groan escaped her. She started to take another step when a hand yanked her away by her coat scruff, and she looked up at her brother to say, “Tsume, he…!”  
  
“Don’t get close to the plant!” Iyek exclaimed behind them, surprising the pack as they looked at him to see he and Toboe had found them, adding despite having covered his mouth and nose with his coat sleeve, “the poison from the plant has paralyzed him!”  
  
Toboe gaped, “b-but he can’t be…!”  
  
“No, he’s just…” Eri shook her head.  
  
Tsume snapped at the both of them and for his sister's sake, “he’s not dead!”  
  
“But if we don’t pull him outta there…” Hige said anxiously, perking up as Iyek strode past them to gather their leader from the plant’s confines and then carry him back to his horse.  
  
Iyek remounted his steed and said to reassure the five, “your friend’s spirit has been taken, but I’m sure the Elder can bring him back.”  
  
Nikki nodded shortly, letting him take off first before she looked at her pack for a moment to then follow Iyek back to his camp.

Chills rose up her spine when the Elder summoned him back, and the chills disappeared only for tension to knot in her shoulders as they watched the sleeping wolf.  
  
The white wolf cracked open an eye, surprising his pack.  
  
“Kiba…” Eri started hopefully.  
  
Hige gulped and asked in the same tone, “do you remember us?”  
  
“Kiba… Kiba!” Toboe said anxiously as said wolf’s eyes closed.  
  
Gold eyes opening slowly, Kiba focused on the faces of his pack, ‘ _hey guys, been a while._ ’  
  
All five wolves shared a relieved exhale.  
  
The black wolf regarded the younger wolves as they were first to scold their alpha, smiling gently at them, before she straightened to leave the tent.  
  
Stepping out into the chilly night that reminded her of winter's presence, she pulled the lapels of her coat closer to her chest and approached the large boulder smack-dab in the middle of the camp to hop on it. She looked up at the moon to find it was full and bleeding red.  
  
_Just like that night_ … her vision blurred again and her shoulders hunched as she then shut her eyes, allowing a choked whimper to pass her lips.  
  
“You okay?” His low voice yanked her from melancholy and he was standing there with the trio also present, concern muddled with the curiosity in his amber eyes that met her blue.  
  
Nikki cleared her throat and nodded, hugging her knees as she replied, “yeah.”  
  
“Kiba asked for you, y’know.” Hige mused when she didn’t budge.  
  
“ _Onee-chan…_ ” Toboe began with a frown.  
  
“I… I’m just glad, that he’s okay.” Nikki assured them, her brothers and sister she realized, as she smiled to try and sound convincing.  
  
_In all actuality, she wanted to hit him._  
  
No male had ever done that to her, thrown himself into danger and make her think he was dead, no male had ever worried her like he did. But, strangely, the longer she thought on it, the longer she realized he didn't really deserve her anger… maybe she wasn’t so much angry with him as she was annoyed that he made her crazy.  
  
But she still wanted to hit him.  
  
Tsume saw right through her, effortlessly considering he knew she wasn't as good a liar as she thought she was, and he stepped forward to join her ontop of the boulder. “We are, too,” he mused quietly.  
  
Curious look faltering at the reminder that he knew she couldn't lie to his face, Nikki quieted and smiled wryly before she rested her head on his shoulder and remarked in the same quiet tone, “you look like Dad when you’re bein' less of an asshat.” Her smile lingered at his chuckle.  
  
Toboe smiled at the siblings before wincing when Hige flicked his right ear, pouting at the mentioned wolf.  
  
Hige smiled playfully before wincing when Eri whacked his arm, giving her a look.  
  
Eri smiled serenely and stepped up to lean against the boulder, looking past Hige who followed her to Toboe who hesitated to join them.  
  
Tsume looked between the two females who looked at the pup, and he puffed to then smirk slightly and nod to the youngest who brightened and scampered over. _Despite being an island, she’s still a softie with these three,_ he thought.  
  
He raised a brow when, minutes later, the tent flap opened again and their alpha stepped out with his jacket on his shoulders and the Elder at his side. “You okay now?” He asked as the quartet with him also looked to the other wolf.  
  
Kiba nodded, “yeah, guess I overslept. I felt like I’ve been dreaming for a long time… a wonderful dream, even.”  
  
“What your spirit beheld was the Garden of Eternity,” the Elder supplied.  
  
“ _’Garden of Eternity’?”_  
  
“You experienced joy and tranquility you never felt, yes?”  
  
“… yeah.”  
  
The Elder nodded slightly, “that is enough to satisfy most people. They embrace the illusion and never come back… but that bliss wasn't enough for you, otherwise you wouldn’t have returned.”  
  
A thoughtful look began to adorn Kiba 's face as he replied, “there’s somewhere I have to go.”  
  
“Tell me, why are you searching for Paradise?” The Elder asked.  
  
The thoughtful expression on his face shifted to one that his packmates were well accustomed to seeing as he answered, “I have to, to survive.”  
  
The Elder smiled, “I see.” He then left the pack to return to his tent.  
  
“So, what happened to you in that garden place?” Eri asked first now that it was just their pack, tilting her head.  
  
Kiba shrugged and replied, “nothing much, except that I met a girl.” He raised a brow when the five fell silent for a moment that felt like an hour.  
  
“You’ve gotta be kidding me…” Eri said first, slapping her forehead.  
  
“You lucky bastardl” Hige gaped.  
  
Tsume huffed wryly as he mused, “that explains why you seemed less uptight…”  
  
It was his turn to raise a brow at the foreign expression of fear that crossed Kiba's face when his sister hopped down from the boulder to step up to him.  
  
"Nik, I..." Kiba started to speak when, instead of the beating he both deserved and expected to come from her, she threw her arms around him. He stiffened for a half-second before minding that she trembled a little, and he sighed softly at having her back as his arms found her waist and he buried his face in her hair.  
  
Tears stood in her blue eyes that met his softened green stare as she drew away as much his tight grip would let her, before she released his neck of one hand to sharply smack his chest.  
  
“Ow…” Kiba grumbled as he reluctantly released her, wincing a bit and musing aloud, “guess I should’ve left out the last part.”  
  
“Damn right you should've. I… I hope you're happy with scaring the hell outta me, and the others… you pull that again and I'll make damn sure you stay in a coma, you idiotic dumbass!” Nikki’s voice rose to a shout at the last bit as her volume made his ears hurt, and he watched the proverbial air deplete from her as she added with another smack to his chest, “and for the record, you drive me crazy! I hope you’re happy, you jackass, because noone's made me worry and cry over them like you've done within the last few days…”  
  
“I'm sorry, Nikki!” Kiba cut in, catching her in mid-word and watching the rest of the proverbial air leave her frustrated person, his shoulders slumping as he continued in a calmer tone that seemed to placate her with each second that passed, "I am, okay? I know I left you angry, and in pain, that I'm the biggest jackass in the world. I know that, babe… but I'm here now, and I'm not gonna leave you. I love you.”  
  
Nikki broke stares as the frustration had caused tears to blur her vision, hastily wiping her eyes before stiffening a bit when he wiped a stray tear away with his thumb. She exhaled wearily when he let her keep his hand, her fingers weaving with his like if their hands had never disconnected, and she looked up at him from under her brow. "I love you, too… even if you're an idiot." She admitted, cheeks rosy when he withdrew his hand only to tug her to his chest, closing her eyes tight with a soft groan.  
  
Kiba squeezed her hips with one arm as the other lifted so his fingers curled in her hair, eyes soft again when she nuzzled his shoulder as he reminded quietly, "I'm _your_ idiot, though, remember?" The caracal he had met in that illusion was nice, he would admit, but she wasn't Nikki. There wasn't another like his mate, and he believed that there never would be.  
  
“I still don’t get it…” Toboe muttered confusedly.  
  
Eri gently elbowed him as she remarked, “it's gonna be a bit before you do, pup.”  
  
Toboe pouted and asked, “then howcome I can’t get it _now?”_  
  
“Even if Kiba’s got all the luck, which is _so_ not fair, she's always had him on a short leash, ne, Tsume?” Hige mused aloud, still sore about the named male's escapade, as he looked at his friend.  
  
Tsume gave a wise nod before he scoffed and said bemusedly, “please, he's _been_ whipped since they met…”  
  
“W-wait, what do you mean _‘whipped’?_ ” Toboe asked with a frown as he looked between his friends.  
  
“It’s different from what you think it means,” Nikki answered with a giggle as she and Kiba had overheard them.  
  
Despite the pink in his cheeks, Kiba squeezed her waist as he supplied, “ignorance is bliss, in this case, Toboe.”


	17. Watching for Comets

_‘Are you really going to take on Jaguara alone?_ ’  
  
That was a stupid question in and of itself, in her opinion. Even if that woman was a witch like the stories said, a stone-cold bitch who had an unnatural hobby of collecting wolves, who made her think that Kiba was dead… Jaguara was going to die for all she had done.  
  
She looked at him when catching the pensive look meant for her that adorned his handsome face, wondering, “something wrong?” She glanced away to check one of her knives she had used in the latest skirmish with a small host of Jaguara's soldiers.  
  
“It’s nothing…” he replied with a shake of his head, having blinked once at catching her curious eye, placing his hands in his jacket pockets.  
  
She rolled her eyes and elbowed him after tucking the scratched blade into one of her coat's inner pockets, “Kiba…” she began.  
  
“I didn’t expect the ferocity you used when handling those soldiers, yesterday… it was impressive.” He admitted, seeming to surprise her, and he smiled fondly at the rosiness that colored her cheeks, proud that he could still make her blush.  
  
“I didn't do it to impress you, y'know, I just hate what that bitch put us through and since she _wasn't_ there for me to rip her head off…” Nikki explained with a huff as she folded her arms at her chest, giving him a dry look even though heat pooled in her belly at regarding the pride in his eyes.  
  
Kiba's smile lingered at the flattered feeling she tried to bury beneath her tomboyish mask, looking away at last and musing aloud, “wouldn’t want the world to see a tough tomboy like you melt, would you?”  
  
Nikki swallowed a growl at his teasing, closing her eyes with a sniff. "Just like _you_ refuse to let anyone see ya show your belly, right?” She bumped hips with him as she strode ahead to then look back at him.  
  
Regarding the toothy grin that crossed her tanned face, Kiba's brow twitched as he scoffed, “exactly.” He lunged for her and missed when she skirted away with a giggle, voicing a growl before launching himself at her again.  
  
Tsume gave a short sigh and looked back at their ‘ _mighty alpha’_ as the younger trio with him had stopped to regard the squabbling couple; he was half-tempted to snap at them to grow up but refrained as he found some measure of peace seeing them make up.  
  
Nikki was hardly one to forgive easily, considering the life they had had, but she was soft on Kiba because he was nuts about her like she was him.  
  
Nikki slightly yelped when she hit the snowy ground back-first, wincing and grumbling, “ow…”  
  
Recalling her shoulder, Kiba drew back a little from having pinned her to frown and say with concern, “I forgot about your shoulder…”  
  
He perked up when a growl came from her and, before he knew it, she had flipped him so he was in the snow. He opened an eye when hearing her breathy giggling, and he closed both eyes to flop back with a groan before muttering, “should’ve seen that one coming.”  
  
Nikki grinned cheerily when he lifted his head as she wiggled while holding onto his waist she straddled, remarking as he sat up a little, "I've had your tail in my teeth for months, babe, you're lagging…” she barely hid a soft squeak at his sudden movement as he pushed her off a bit.  
  
Kiba silenced her beginning protest with a kiss, grinning when she reciprocated eagerly as her fingers found his shirt collar, drawing away only to bump foreheads and hum, "I missed that."  
  
“I thought we weren’t gonna dawdle…!” Hige griped, having cleared his throat to get the couple to look at them.  
  
Kiba rolled his eyes even though he once again cursed Hige, otherwise regarding the blushing she-wolf with pride as she straightened from being in his lap, getting to his feet. “So don’t whine if we leave you behind when you ‘ _dawdle’_ with another girl,” he remarked calmly.  
  
The six resumed their trek through the snow before coming on a frosted ledge that overlooked an ice-covered lake.  
  
“Is this an ocean?” Toboe asked at large as they noticed the layer of ice sluggishly moved with the current.  
  
Kiba nodded, “it’s an ice flow.”  
  
“A frozen sea.” Tsume said when the pup started to ask again.  
  
“We’re gonna cross this, aren’t we?” Eri guessed.  
  
Nikki sighed slightly and replied, “yep; it’s on the other side, anyway.”  
  
A lightbulb came on and Kiba stepped up to her as she was closer to the edge. “Ladies first, then.” He said calmly before bumping her over the edge, hearing a yelp come from her as she fell.  
  
Hige snorted amusedly and commented, “somethin’ tells me you _shouldn’t_ have done that…”  
  
“Get down here now or I’m climbing back up to kill you, Kiba!” Nikki threatened annoyedly from having landed on sure feet on the frozen ground, scowling up at the cliffside.  
  
“I thought alphas were more mature…” Eri rolled her eyes as she followed the older female's leave to then land nimbly.  
  
Tsume rolled his eyes this time and whacked their leader on the back of the head before he hopped the ledge, landing near the girls and saying contently to his sister, “your honor's been avenged, brat.”  
  
Kiba landed next with Hige not far behind, rubbing his head gingerly and shooting a scowl at the older wolf as he groused, “try that avenging crap on those soldiers instead…” He then led the way along the ice with the four at his heels.  
  
“T-that’s cold!” Toboe exclaimed, having landed last and giving a yelp when his left hand slipped in the cold waters.  
  
“Would you be careful, runt? We’re ontop of water, y’know!” Hige scolded as they glanced back at the youngest.  
  
Toboe pouted and huffed, “I-I know that!” Hopping to his feet, he scampered ahead of them and called, “c'mon, what’re you waiting for? This cold feels great!”  
  
Eri shook her head and smiled wryly as she guessed, “the cold must’ve given him a surge of energy or something…”  
  
“He’s such a pup.” Tsume mused in the same tone.

Annoyed, the pup defended, “I was getting ready to!”  
  
“ _’Getting ready_ ’ to do what?” The tan wolf muttered.  
  
The five watched the youngest give a brief battle cry as he leapt the distance between his slab and theirs, a yelp ushering him in as he slipped on slush and flailed while sliding forward. A deadpan expression crossed the older wolves’ faces when he landed in a large wad of snow face-first.  
  
Rubbing his head, Toboe looked at the bones near him before lifting one up to inspect it and wonder aloud, “are these bird bones?”  
  
Hige sniffed the bone after taking it from the pup and sighed before lamenting sorely, “not so much as a scrap of meat left…”  
  
“We’ll probably find something to eat in the next town,” Kiba pointed out as he and Tsume had started walking away.  
  
Tsume agreed, looking to the pup, “the sooner we leave, we can eat. You still in one piece, Toboe?”  
  
Toboe puffed, “w-well yeah, of course! Let’s keep moving!” He hopped up to then sprint ahead of them.  
  
Eri shook her head with a chuckle, jogging to catch up to Tsume.  
  
Nikki smiled patiently and looked back at Hige as he sulked up at the sky, exhaling and urging as she dragged him along by his collar, “c'mon, quit whining…”  
  
_“You_ come on, Nik…!” Hige whined, stiffening and clamming up when she gave him a look, knowing without a doubt that she would clock him good if he ever said she was just like Tsume when in a mood.

The pack continued through the ice flow with little talk, granted five of the wolves were ahead of the sixth. When said pup lagged a ways behind them once again, the older wolves paused to let him catch up.  
  
Sharp eyes scanning the slabs of ice around them when the pup slipped and landed on another slab of ice before them, the she-wolf bristled a bit next to her brother.  
  
He briefly raised a brow at seeing her attention drawn elsewhere, nudging her as he grumbled, “what is it?”  
  
“Something’s coming,” she replied softly, ears perking when something knocked on the underside of the pup’s slab as he started to get up, being first to watch the slab shake again when he tried to right himself.  
  
“What the hell…?” The tan wolf wondered at large.  
  
“What is that…?” The younger female gulped before wincing when the slab was shattered as a massive brown beast rose up from the cold waters and sent the pup flying. _“Toboe!_ ” She exclaimed.  
  
“Toboe, no!” Hige barked as he scrambled to help said pup when he emerged from the waters with a gasp, yanking him onto the safer ice slab, and both wolves scrambled away when the behemoth rammed into the slab they were on, making them jump out of the way.  
  
A walrus with one eye towered over the two growling wolves, glowering down at them before releasing a shrill cry of anger.  
  
The four streaks of white, black and two gray launched themselves at the large animal then, latching onto parts of its neck and face, before they were shaken off its hide like flies. Both gray wolves and one black wolf were sent sailing in one direction and the white wolf was sent flying to crash into a tall ice-pillar, before the walrus approached the lattermost who landed in a heap on the slab belonging to the pillar.  
  
“ **Kiba**!” Nikki and Eri exclaimed in chorus when a cry of pain came from him as the walrus rammed a tusk into his left thigh, bolting forward with Tsume and Hige not far behind as they flew at the walrus again.  
  
Kiba glared up at the walrus despite the pain and perked up as the familiar streak of black sank her teeth into its nose and held on, “N-Nikki, don’t!” He barked as the walrus howled and raised its left flipper to sharply slap her away, sending her flying with a yelp. “ _Nikki!”_ He exclaimed.  
  
Feeling like she had been hit by a freight train, the black wolf growled as she shakily got back up from having been sent flying nearly a mile away, looking at her pack before the screech of pain from the walrus snapped her out of dizziness. She recognized the small brown ball of fur that had a vice-grip on the walrus’ good eye and gaped, _‘Toboe?_ ’  
  
“Are you alright?” Kiba asked as Tsume, Eri, and Hige emerged from being knocked underwater by the walrus’ fall, helping the younger female out first as the trio shared a nod, looking away at hearing familiar boot heels and smiling with relief at seeing Nikki present.  
  
“I’ve had worse,” Nikki smiled ruefully as their eyes met, looking around him at the trio and frowning, “and Toboe…?” She trailed off as a crashing of waves and ice sounded.  
  
The five watched the walrus resurface and piledrive through the ice slabs with a familiar pup attached to its good eye, leaping into the air at having no other choice and crashing into a tall ice-pillar before tumbling into the cold waters below.  
  
Tension entered the still air around them, as they waited for their pup to resurface for air, hoping beyond hope that he hadn’t been dragged to his death by that overgrown slug.  
  
“That kid went crazy…” Tsume said first, cutting into the silence.  
  
“I’m not sure what it was…” Eri shook her head and frowned.  
  
Nikki winced slightly as she touched a new graze above her eye, “he just did it to protect us… I know he did.” She defended.  
  
“This really sucks… he’s gonna come up, right? Come on, Toboe… _Toboe!”_ Hige wondered at large before calling the pup’s name, perking up when a crash sounded behind them.  
  
The five looked in surprise as the walrus had resurfaced only to limply fall onto a stable slab, bleeding with chunks of ice dug into its thick flesh, and their pup landed nimbly on four paws after having let go at last. The dying walrus growled lowly at the brown wolf, being received with a snarl and baring of his teeth, before it let its head droop onto the ice as the pup relaxed slightly.  
  
“Toboe!” Eri beamed, skidding to a halt to throw her arms around him as she was first to his side, “that was amazing…!” She said, raising a brow and shying at feeling him tremble as he seemed to look past the walrus at something they couldn’t see, asking quietly, “Toboe, you okay?”  
  
“What happened to you?” Hige asked next as he was as incredulous as the remaining trio were.  
  
Toboe finally spoke, quietly, “I don’t know, something happened, and then it was… I don’t know, like something inside me snapped all of a sudden.”  
  
Nikki looked at the boys as the three older ones shared a look, and she smiled wryly as Eri sat back on her knees.  
  
_‘You have to be joking… not once have I been defeated on this land, I have been protecting it since long ago, and even when I was the only one left… in this world it’s either kill or be killed, but understand that I will not die a victim… I’m going to save you_ …’ the walrus growled out, earning their attention as it opened its good bloodshot eye, before life fled from it, and a measure of peace entered when it finally passed on.  
  
Hige’s stomach growled, earning looks from his companions and reminding them all that they hadn’t eaten in a long while.  
  
Nikki placed a hand on Hige’s shoulder when he eyed the walrus, watching Kiba step forward to crouch at the pup’s right.  
  
“He’s your kill, Toboe, so you eat first.” Kiba stated when the pup’s gold met his green.  
  
Toboe nodded as he recognized he was right, shrugging away to approach the dead beast and take the first bite.  
  
Hige slightly winced when he was met with a gentle snap to his muzzle from their alpha as he sought to shortly follow the pup’s example.  
  
Nikki made a face at her mate’s gesture, nudging his cheek briefly, joining Toboe before Eri, Hige, Tsume and Kiba helped.  
  
Apparently chivalry wasn’t entirely dead… who knew?

"It wasn't that bad, babe…"  
  
"Doesn't matter, you've got a bad habit of running around with open wounds."  
  
Tsume looked briefly over at the chosen duo who were going on about Kiba's scuffs, again, and he rolled his eyes before looking away to find the younger she-wolf peel away from laughing with Toboe about something.  
  
Brown met amber and the former cracked a shy smirk at their eyes locking before she shuffled away to sit by an ice-encrusted rock.  
  
"A cool guy like you doesn't get cold, right?" Eri half-wondered half-scoffed when he came to sit with her, tilting her head and looking at him.  
  
Tsume snorted slightly at that, earning a soft giggle, as he remarked, "I'd think pipsqueaks like you would turn into an icicle out here."  
  
Eri rolled her eyes on habit, cheeks somewhat rosy as she leaned onto his side. "Jerkface," she sniffed, adding before her nerves got the best of her, "living on a frozen island is about the same as living in Freeze City. Neither place is forgiving enough, in my opinion."  
  
Nodding a bit in agreement, Tsume ignored the rosiness in his own cheeks at having her so close, shuffling a little to fold his arm around her shoulders if only so she wasn't shivering. "Don't get all girly about it, brat," he advised with a huff.  
  
Smiling fondly at the gruff edge in his quieted voice, Eri nodded along. "Then don't try to make a pass at me, geezer; I'm not like your sister but I'm also not above hitting you in the nuts," she remarked dryly.  
  
"As much of a total shock as this is gonna sound, I'm not that sleazy, Eri." Tsume pointed out in the same tone, knowing for a fact living with a hardass like his sister had driven that disposition out of him years ago, looking down at her and musing after a moment of holding stares with her, "ya don't come across as that type of girl, either."  
  
Eri quieted before she looked away like a coward, cheeks rosy but not because of the cold, nodding and replying quietly, "sorry, then, about assuming that of you, Tsume."  
  
Regarding the somewhat-embarrassed coloring of her cheeks, Tsume also quieted and assured in the same tone, "get some sleep, pipsqueak. I'm not goin' anywhere."  
  
"'Kay." Eri mumbled before stifling a yawn, giving him a brief look at his jinxing her, snuggling into his side as she closed her eyes to await sleep.  
  
Looking down at her as it felt like seconds before she was sleeping, Tsume regarded the softening of her face that made it seem like she hadn't struggled with the loss of her pack and bickered with him since the moment they met only to come to this point. She was stubborn and gentle and optimistic, and she was happy with their ragtag pack, with him… he smiled privately at the sleeping she-wolf.  
  
"About time," Nikki grumbled more to herself, having seen the two gray wolves make nice and snuggle up to each other on the vain excuse of the cold around them.  
  
Kiba rolled his eyes at her spying, kissing the spot between her throat and her ear as he reminded quietly so as not to disturb the others, "told you they'd be fine."  
  
Nikki pouted at his method to get her to retreat to the warmth of his arms, remarking in the same tone, "I know, but he's my brother, I haven't seen him act like this before. Kinda like seeing a miracle when you never expected to see a miracle, y'know?"  
  
"I'm pretty sure he'd maim you for spying on him, babe," Kiba mused as he gently pulled her back to him, quieting a vain protest she started to voice with a kiss, drawing away to look on his mate as he finished in the same gentle tone, "'sides, you need sleep, not to fret over your brother."  
  
Nikki grumped at his reasoning, exhaling and shifting a bit to curl up in his hold, smiling wryly when he held her close with one arm while the other gave her left calf a squeeze, humming softly into his neck, "you're lucky I love you."  
  
Kiba chuckled in the same tone and kissed her forehead as he remarked, "love you too, Nik."


	18. Gasoline I

Wrinkling her nose, the gray wolf aimlessly waved at the pungent stench of the slums.  
  
“How’d you know about this?” Their alpha asked as he looked to the tan wolf.  
  
Said male pondered for a second before answering lightly, “can’t say for sure, but it must be my keen instinct!”  
  
“It’s not _that_ keen if you couldn’t have found an entryway that doesn’t reek…” the black wolf said blandly after sharing a look with her brother.  
  
“Nikki’s right, but you gotta admit the ceiling is pretty high here… I’ve never seen a dome so big,” the pup observed.  
  
Shaking his head at the pup’s naiveté, the gray wolf looked further down the ditch as he wondered, “so what’s the plan?”  
  
“Cheza has to be somewhere inside the keep,” the white wolf said pensively.  
  
Hige rubbed his neck. “Well then, the keep should be over there,” he said as he gestured to a different direction.  
  
“You never said you knew this city like the back of your hand.” Nikki observed, tilting her head a bit only to then deadpan when they all heard his stomach growl.  
  
“Hey I know, why don’t we break up into teams? You guys go look for a way in, and the rest of us will scope out the place, yeah?” Hige then proposed.  
  
Tsume rolled his eyes, “don’t you mean _‘look for food’?”_  
  
“Don’t worry, we’ll be sure to bring back enough food for everyone, right?” Hige waved it off and looked at the pup.  
  
Toboe nodded, “yep, we’ve got this!”  
  
Nikki raised a brow at having the comment dodged by her friend, folding her arms as Tsume and Kiba shared a look.  
  
“It _would_ be easier if we split up…” Tsume agreed.  
  
Kiba nodded, “fine, the three of us will look for a way in.”  
  
“Alright, then, we’ll meet you back here at moonrise.” Hige stated lightly.  
  
“Then I’m going with you two instead…” Nikki started to propose, earning a look from the tan wolf that she couldn’t place.  
  
“It’s better I go.” Eri said, regarding the tan wolf’s odd look for a moment, nodding to their alpha.  
  
Hige made a face as he tried to dissuade her, “it’s not like we need a pup-sitter…”  
  
Tsume also caught the weird look and huffed as he said calmly, “we’ll rest easier if one of the girls goes with you… Eri’s about as responsible as my sister.”  
  
Cheeks reddened, Eri smiled at him and leaned up to kiss his cheek before she teased, “that was almost a compliment.” She giggled when his cheeks colored in turn at her affection.  
  
Nikki rolled her eyes when the trio took off first, smirking at her brother’s far-off look as she mused, “you’re almost as soft as Kiba.”  
  
Tsume glanced at said wolf who also looked his way at the same time and huffed. “It’ll take a hundred things to go wrong before _that_ happens…” he remarked first.  
  
Kiba made a face.

Using the front door clearly wasn’t a good idea, if the throng of soldiers blocking the gates wasn’t enough of a sign. So they had to come up with a second method.  
  
While he wasn’t about to admit it to her, and he sincerely doubted he would ever do so, Tsume recognized that the “ _feminine wiles”_ thing actually worked… on lesser males, that is.  
  
He and Kiba observed as Nikki stood in the alley talking with the two thieves, namely the hat-wearing boy, batting her eyelashes now and then as she talked… Tsume briefly wondered when she had gotten a silver tongue and would admit that seeing the unamused frown on Kiba’s brow was hilarious.  
  
It was clear that both wolves were thinking the same thing: _it wasn’t her they didn’t trust._  
  
“…Sorry sweetheart, but I don’t give handouts.” Hat-boy said, sounding sincere about it from what they heard, drawing the gray wolf from his thoughts.  
  
Nikki stepped back with a lamenting noise. “Well that’s too bad!” She tilted her head to one side, signaling her companions as she continued in the same light tone, “I was hoping you’d be gentlemen and help a poor girl out…”  
  
After some _‘persuading_ ’, thanks to Kiba and Tsume, their thieves at last conceded.  
  
Hat-boy sighed slightly as he began, “so, you got a question? Fire away.”  
  
“We’re trying to get into the keep, so we wanna know if there’s a chance of getting in without getting spotted.” Tsume went first.  
  
“A-are you nuts… ya don’t mean _Lady Jaguara_ ’s keep, do you?” He stammered.  
  
“Yep.” Nikki nodded.  
  
He shook his head in disbelief, “pfah, forget it! I know you three are strong and all, but there’s no way you’ll ever get in! Why the hell wouldja even do it in the first place?”  
  
“They stole a woman from us.” Tsume stated.  
  
He slightly huffed, “and you wanna steal her back from a noble? You really must think I’m a sucker…”  
  
“ **We’re serious**.” Both chosen wolves said in chorus.  
  
“B-but that’s suicide…! I mean, you can’t mess around with a noble, _especially_ Lady Jaguara! Word is that she’s some kind of witch that casts all these insane spells…” he gaped.  
  
Nikki exhaled shortly, “ya think we care? I don’t give a rat’s ass what kind of bitch she is; we came all this way to save Cheza, and Jaguara's gonna regret taking her from us.”  
  
Hat-boy gulped slightly, “man, you three are asking for a whole mess of trouble… but hell, if that’s what you want, it’s not like I care. We can show you the way in, but that’s as far as we’ll go.”  
  
Relieved at getting somewhere at last, the mentioned wolves smiled simultaneously.  
  
“That’ll be enough; we can handle the rest once we get in,” Kiba said calmly.  
  
“Damn you’re cool…” Hat-boy mused aloud.  
  
His quieter friend chimed, “he’s the man.”  
  
The five then set off with the thieves in the lead to where the mentioned “ _mouse-hole”_ was. They came to a halt at the edge of the concrete echelon that looked down on a river of massive red cables traveling straight into the distance… the three wolves simultaneously felt the creepy sense that came from the cables.  
  
“This is it… no one’s ever followed it to the end before, but the cables around here definitely run under the keep. That should be enough to get you in.” Hat-boy announced with a rather grave tone, adding more to himself, “some guy told me these things even feed energy to the city or something along those lines…”  
  
Tsume glanced away from eyeing the cables to his companions, “you feel it too, then?”  
  
“It’s like the opposite of basking in moonlight,” Kiba nodded.  
  
Nikki shook off the instinctive bristle as she supplied, “I hate it too, but I can handle it so long as we get in…”  
  
“Hey, are you three really going in there?” Their guide asked warily behind them, earning three glances.  
  
Tsume smiled briefly, “yeah, thanks for the help.”  
  
Hat-boy hesitated for a second before looking at the lone female and asking, “so, you single?”  
  
She blinked once before smiling sheepishly as she started, “well, actually…”  
  
“She’s taken.” Kiba said firmly, quelling a growl that had settled in his throat, dragging her away by the hand.  
  
“Thanks again!” Nikki waved with her free hand as Tsume shortly followed them, turning to her mate and adding in a patient tone, “you can relax now, killer.”  
  
“There’s a reason I never liked humans, thinking they can own anything or anyone…” Kiba growled in disgust, relaxing his grip despite his disgruntlement.  
  
Nikki sighed softly as she cut in, “except for me.” Regarding his curious glance, she squeezed his hand and added in the same soft tone, “you know that I love you… but you're adorable when you get worked up over some kid making a pass at me.”  
  
Kiba’s ears reddened and his lips formed into that pout that earned a soft grin from her, glancing elsewhere to remark albeit vainly, “I didn't.”  
  
“Sickening as this is, you were worried about nothing.” Tsume commented blandly as he had walked ahead of them, glancing back to regard the dagger-filled look from Kiba before looking ahead with a quiet chuckle.  
  
Nikki giggled even though she leaned up to kiss Kiba's cheek, feeling him squeeze her hand before she asked her brother, “you think the others already came back?”  
  
Tsume shrugged and returned, “you don’t wanna quit now, do you?” He looked back at the couple and regarded the matching determined look on their faces. “Then let’s keep going. Knowing Hige, he’ll catch up with us sooner or later… we just need to have a bit of faith,” he mused, smiling wryly before pausing short of the ledge and readying himself for the jump.  
  
Kiba shared the smile before being first to jump, landing expertly on one of the cables. He looked up when Nikki shortly followed to hit the proverbial ground running, and Tsume was no different.  
  
The trio didn’t know how far the cables would get them, but they each hoped they would get far enough.


	19. Gasoline II

Briefly glancing around them at the long and lonely corridor they walked, she frowned and dug her hands deeper into the pockets of her coat as she found she hated this place with each step…  
  
“… Every hair on my body is standing on end, this creepy place is weirding me out, and I don’t like it.” Her brother grumbled annoyedly nearby, perking her ears.  
  
Her mate huffed slightly as he remarked, “there’s a first.”  
  
“How’s that?” Tsume wondered.  
  
Kiba replied with a shrug, “didn’t expect to hear you whine so much.”  
  
“Well it’s a normal reaction under the circumstances…” Tsume huffed.  
  
Kiba glanced at him as he advised simply, “then go back?”  
  
“And leave my baby sister’s life _plus_ all the fun in your hands? Not a chance, flight-risk.” Tsume shot him a wry look.  
  
Nikki rolled her eyes and remarked calmly, “your ‘ _baby sister’_ can take care of herself well enough by now, dear brother.”  
  
Tsume reflexively ruffled her hair as he retorted, “I _still_ don’t believe that comin’ from a hothead like you.”  
  
Kiba shot an amused smirk at their she-wolf who shooed her brother's hand off and to fix her hair.  
  
The trio continued walking in companionable silence. It was what she assumed an hour or so later that the oldest paused to sniff the air, prompting the remaining two to also stop and glance back at him.  
  
“What is it?” Kiba asked.  
  
Tsume scowled back at the corridor they had left behind as he replied, “I smelled something…”  
  
Both chosen wolves perked up when a wall appeared where the gray wolf stood as said wolf had disappeared.  
  
“Tsume!” Kiba barked as he slammed a fist against the titanium wall.  
  
Nikki threw herself against it on her left side, wincing at the ripple of pain the collision sent through her body. “Tsume, get out of here! We’ll find Cheza, just go!” She called before pressing her ear to the cold wall.  
  
“… _Don’t get killed!_ ” Tsume’s voice called back before there was silence on his side, and she hoped it was because he had left the wall.  
  
Kiba scowled at the wall as she gave it a sharp kick in frustration, looking at her as he urged, “come on.”  
  
Nikki spared the wall another glare before nodding, following his leave until she was at his side and hoping beyond hope that she would see her brother soon.

This city was beyond irritating, downright vexing if she had to put a finger on it.  
  
It was thanks to Hige that they had found a service elevator that led to the higher echelons –the more densely populated from what she guessed— and hopefully led to the keep. After a few hours, though, Hige had started acting funny and took off, leaving her and Toboe to worry. It had seemed as if he disappeared when they tried looking for him, so they gave up with some reluctance and tried to find the way to the keep.  
  
_That_ didn’t pan out, either.  
  
Given the fact that despite their winding up in the main part of the city, both gray and brown wolves couldn’t find a single scent that led anywhere! It was like the city had been sterilized just to play tricks with them… and even then, it was only by a miracle that they found the same alley where the service elevator was.  
  
But like before, only worse, that didn’t go as planned.  
  
“C'mon, Toboe!” Eri barked as the squadron of soldiers exited the truck that had skidded to a halt yards away from them, being first to retreat to the lift.  
  
Toboe shortly followed her as she ran from the soldiers, looking over his shoulder at them and perking up as the tall one gave a motion for them to wield the shields they had.  
  
A yelp sounded behind her, and Eri skidded to a halt to look and see they had knocked the pup unconscious. She doubled back as the smaller soldiers started to approach her companion, snarling, _“get away from him!_ ” She jumped the first one she could get her paws on and ripped his throat open.  
  
White noise filled her ears as she was thrown off the dead soldier to then hit the cold floor on her side. Blearily she saw the soldiers approaching before she looked for the pup and growled, ‘ _T-Toboe_ …’ her world went black.

_Well shit_.  
  
A sizeable host of soldiers, clad in heavy black armor, greeted the couple when he pushed open the double doors. They weren’t the small soldiers she had seen, unfortunately, they were the taller ones… and they had been waiting for them.  
  
“It’d be stupid to ask you to run,” he mused more to himself as they acknowledged the trap they had walked into.  
  
Her nails dug into her covered palms as she remarked blandly, “dying with you isn’t as bad as it sounds.”  
  
Kiba smirked ruefully despite the part of him that loved her more than anything protested her notion, puffing before he bounded forward to crash into the first soldier.  
  
Nikki shortly followed, leaping onto another soldier and knocking him down, blood flying from his torn throat.  
  
Hell broke loose around the chosen couple as they paved their way through the soldiers, cutting down as many as got in their way, with blood and fur flying.  
  
Ears ringing when the tranquilizer shields went off nearby, yanking her from the rush of adrenaline at exacting her vengeance on the miserable host of dogs, Nikki looked away from tearing into another one to see the remaining soldiers had knocked him down. A loud snarl escaped her as she raced to his aid just as the soldiers encircled them, shielding her mate with her teeth bared angrily.  
  
She was tired, and bleeding from new cuts and scrapes, but she'd be damned if they were going to take him from her again!  
  
Recognizing the foolish she-wolf was willing to die for her mate, one soldier stepped closer to the odd pair and raised his spear high to deal a killing blow before a low snarl came from the white wolf who had roused in time.  
  
The remaining soldiers flinched on reflex when the white wolf, who had moved like lightning to cut down their unfortunate comrade, stood protectively in front of his mate with his teeth bared. Regaining their composure, the soldiers aimed their respective spears at the angered wolves as lasers shot off from their weapons.  
  
Having yanked the pin off one of the last few grenades, she dropped it before taking his hand in hers as both wolves leapt away to avoid the lasers that had missed them by a hair's breadth.  
  
Kiba looked her way as they landed expertly by the stairwell on the other side of the hall, starting to ask, “what'd you…?”  
  
A loud _‘boom_ ’ erupted into the air not a minute later, stifling his question and engulfing the room in thick smoke. White noise filled his ears and he didn’t know if his eardrums had burst with the noise from the explosion, looking around as his head spun before his green eyes focused on his other half who had covered her ears with her hands and was slowly lowering them, following her blue gaze that peered past the smoke that began to clear.  
  
A crater nearly as wide as the hall’s center remained where the soldiers had been, and both wolves didn’t need to guess to know the soldiers were now dead.  
  
“T-there was so many of them…” Nikki breathed tiredly, looking down at the grenade pin she had kept in her clenched fist.  
  
Glad that the white noise had left them, Kiba allowed a wry smile as he followed her gaze and mused, “that was pretty clever, for a hot-headed thief.”  
  
Nikki recalled he had called her that once beneath fabricated moonlight and smiled fondly before she wiped a smudge of dirt from her nose. “I had a good teacher,” her smile faltered as she looked past the crater to the doors on the other end of the hall.  
  
“Knowing him, he’s already found the others.” Kiba quietly assured if only to ease her worry, brushing disheveled locks from her cheek and pointing out, “we should keep going.”  
  
Nikki nodded and took his hand as she replied in the same tone, “let’s.” 

Relief made her heart soar as they found her imprisoned in a spherical tank that glowed green. “Cheza,” she said with a grin as she was first to approach the tank, regarding the dozing expression on her pale face.  
  
He chimed thoughtfully, “we finally found you…” ears perking when the girl didn't respond, he tried despite the sinking feeling that grew in the pit of his stomach, “Cheza?”  
  
“She’s not waking up…” she murmured in confusion, dread also finding a home in her chest, before her hackles rose at realizing something neither of them had yet to take note of.  
  
_They weren’t alone_.  
  
He was first to look behind them as the stench of noble filled their noses, bristling and extending an arm in front of his mate as a woman wearing a dark cloak and a silver-and-gold masque with an eerie smile on her lips stood there in the shadows watching them.  
  
The noblewoman’s smile widened when both bristling wolves rounded on her, drawling in a honeyed croon, “the chosen wolves, the wolves bathed in the light and the shadow of the moon… how beautiful you both are.”  
  
Kiba bared his teeth as he struck first, rushing forward before a circle that glowed white appeared beneath his paws and dragged him down, paralyzing him.  
  
Nikki flew at the woman with a furious growl, briefly seeing her flick her wrist, before she was thrown away by an invisible force and hit the wall hard.  
  
The witch’s laughter rang in her ears as she slumped to the cold floor before her world went black.


	20. Gasoline III

Tsume perked up at the pup’s protests, “Toboe!” He barked, looking past the bars at said pup who was squirming in the soldier’s grip. “Where’s Eri?” He asked at seeing the quartet of soldiers.  
  
“T-Tsume?” Toboe wondered, looking at him in relief before yelping slightly when the soldier tossed him into his cell.  
  
“Let go of me, asshole!” As if she had heard him, Eri was being carried by the second soldier as the third pushed a few buttons on a nearby switch, and she was thrown into her own cell next to Toboe's to land in a heap.  
  
“Come back here…!” Eri snarled as she threw herself at the bars that slammed shut on her, quieting as two of the soldiers approached a cell catty-corner from Tsume’s to knock out the occupant. She stiffened when the two soldiers dragged the unconscious she-wolf out of the prison.  
  
That old wolf, she was like Gramps… _was that going to be their fate!?_  
  
“Are you okay, Eri?” Toboe asked, yanking her from her thoughts.  
  
Eri rubbed her cheek gingerly and nodded, “yeah, but that old lady… Tsume, are you alright?” She looked past the bars at his cell on her far right.  
  
“I’ve been through worse, but yeah… where’s Hige?” Tsume replied wryly before looking at his packmates.  
  
“We split up when he started acting weird and ran off… where’re Kiba and Nikki, are they okay?” Eri explained with a shake of her head, hearing him huff exasperatedly, frowning as she asked, “Tsume?”  
  
“I don’t know…” Tsume shook his head too, ears perking when hearing a slight growl escape her and he looked at her as he started in a vain attempt to comfort her, “hey, don’t worry about Hige…”  
  
“It’s not about Hige! I just, I saw that old lady the soldiers took, and… a-and if Jaguara’s dogs have taken over every other city, then Da…” a lump sat itself in her throat and Eri whimpered hoarsely, “I-I don’t have a pack anymore…!”  
  
Tsume bristled at her tears and snapped albeit with some gentility, “that’s horseshit and you know it, Eri!” He heard Toboe quiet in his cell as a sniff came from the named wolf, continuing firmly, “so what if you’re the only one left? You’re not dead, and you’re not alone either! I can't speak for Hige, but you’ve got the others… you’ve got **me** , y'got that? That’s all that matters.”  
  
“Tsume…” Eri sniffled before brushing away the beginning tears, nodding after a moment. As soon as they got out of these accursed cages, she vowed to throw her arms around him and never let go.  
  
“But what if Eri’s right, and we end up dying like that old lady?” Toboe wondered more to himself, earning his companions' attention, “what if we don’t make it to Paradise…?” he trailed off to then perk up at hearing the bars from his neighboring cell be given a sharp kick, looking past the bars to the she-wolf as he began, “Eri?”  
  
“We’re not gonna die like that…” Eri kicked the bars again but with some force, glaring at the immobile rods as Tsume's resolve seemed to replenish her strength. “We’re gonna go to Paradise, Toboe… 'sides, you said you weren't gonna whine anymore, remember?” She promised before gripped the bars and scowled determinedly at the pup.  
  
Tsume regarded the familiar tenacity that eerily reminded him of his sister's, smirking rather proudly at hearing it come from Eri.  
  
Toboe sniffed slightly at the reminder and smiled for her as he admitted, “you sounded like Nikki for a second.” He earned a shy smile from his packmate.  
  
“Sorry, but are you three wolves?” The trio perked up at the question coming from the man in a cell across from Tsume’s, and he was looking back at them, registering the two gray wolves and one brown wolf who were a bit surprised at his question. He sat down on the cold floor and mused, “you are, aren’t you?”  
  
Tsume huffed as he was first to retort, “so what if we are, who’re you?”  
  
The detective looked to him despite asking at large, “everything written in the Book of the Moon was true, wasn’t it?”  
  
“If you’re talking about how the world ends because wolves look for Paradise, then yeah.” Eri guessed as she also sat down by the bars.  
  
Toboe wondered, “howcome you’re locked up too, Mister? You’re a human.”  
  
“If you’re looking for Cheza, I was with her.” He replied with a wry sort of smile, surprising the wolves before he added, “we were both brought by the soldiers here, but I don’t know where they’re keeping her.”  
  
“We’ve gotta get out of here!” Toboe declared then, earning two nods from his packmates, before all three of them began trying to force the bars open.  
  
It felt like hours later and they still didn’t bend.  
  
Eri was first to stop, rubbing her bruised shoulder gingerly, and her ears perked as a familiar tune began to hum in her ears. “It’s Cheza… boys, listen,” she looked at them alertly, seeing both wolves stop moving before they all heard her wordless song.  
  
Toboe perked up at hearing the sad note to the song, “why does her song sound so sad?” He asked them.  
  
“She’s not…” Tsume trailed off at also hearing the same thing, bristling angrily at their state, before he started slamming against the bars again.  
  
Tears running down her cheeks as it felt like her heart was being torn in two, Eri backed up and threw herself at the bars.  
  
Another long, and painful, lapse of time later and still the bars wouldn't break.  
  
Rubbing her bruised jaw as she had tried to break the bars with her teeth, Eri looked up at the lights when they flickered off and then came back on as fast as they had turned off. _Were they actually making headway?_  
  
She wasn't the first to notice that, as even the detective had seen the flicker, and he looked at the two male wolves as he piped up, "they're not gonna open that way!"  
  
"He's right," Eri agreed as they both got Tsume and Toboe to stop, adding, "the locks are electric, but it looks like there's a power outage somewhere nearby."  
  
The man nodded quickly and finished, "if you three hit the bars when the power flickers out, I think you can get out."  
  
Tsume looked past his bars at Eri who was looking between he and Toboe with an excited spark in her eyes, shaking his head at the proverbial cherry ontop of the bizarre day he was having.  
  
"Together!" Toboe urged before the lights flickered off, causing he, Tsume, and Eri to throw themselves at the bars again.  
  
Eri looked up when the locks gave and caused the bars to crack open, grinning from ear to ear as she exclaimed, "we did it!"  
  
Tsume regarded the awestruck detective across the way and deadpanned, looking up as well when the power cut out before he looked at the prison doors that opened to let a familiar tan wolf enter.  
  
"Hige," Eri greeted first with a relieved grin.  
  
"Guess I didn't need to come rescue your asses," Hige chuckled wryly as he came up to their cells, tapping a button on the nearby switch to set the trio free. He couldn't fight the smile when Toboe and Eri welcomed him with a hug, looking past them at Tsume who lingered in his cell. "What're you waiting for?" He wondered even though the hard set of the other's brow told him enough.  
  
Eri looked between the two and frowned softly as her eyes fell on the older wolf and she asked in the same tone, "Tsume?"  
  
"What kind of trap are you leading us to this time?" Tsume demanded coldly, earning a surprised look from Eri and Toboe, amber eyes hard as he glared at Hige who sobered at the question, adding with disgust, "I saw them, y'know, the wolves in that hall. Stuffed and mounted like trophies… they all wore collars that looked really familiar."  
  
Hige spoke before either Eri or Toboe could step in, a sad note entering his voice, "I didn't know about that, or why I had that damned thing in the first place."  
  
"Don't pull that shit with me, you were the nobles' dog! You let them kill your own…" Tsume snapped.  
  
"If you think I'm that miserable then kill me!" Hige snapped back, glaring just as hard at the older wolf, before a remorseful look crossed his face as he added in a quieter tone, "I mean it."  
  
"Don't talk like that, Hige, that doesn't sound like you at all," Toboe piped up as he tugged on the older wolf's sleeve.  
  
Hige scoffed humorlessly at that and wondered, "the hell's that supposed to mean, ' _like me'?_ "  
  
Inhaling sharply as she understood when the pieces came together, Eri whacked him upside the head with an equally-sharp hand, stepping back when Hige flinched and looked at her. "He means the funny, skirt-chasing, friendly you, the you we've known for months! You're my friend, Hige, and you're nuts if you think I'm lettin' you die for a dumbass mistake you made before any of us ever knew you," she stated even with tears starting to prick at her eyes, turning a bit to glare up at Tsume.  
  
Tsume held her stubborn stare, knowing she knew as much as he did of traitors, finding with irony that she wasn't about to let him hurt Hige even though he had half a right mind to do so. "You really have been hanging with my sister too long…" he huffed, seeming to perk her ears.  
  
"Kinda have to be when it comes to you three cubs," Eri sniffed back as she looked between Hige and Toboe before looking at him with softened eyes.  
  
Hige smiled ruefully, glad for her stubbornness that had seemed to finally melt Tsume's heart, nodding to her, "thanks for that, E." He earned a small smile from her before he added at large, "things are getting kinda hairy, so you lot can make it outta here if you go now." He stepped away to leave the prison.  
  
"Where're you off to?" Tsume demanded as he had shuffled out to come to Eri's side.  
  
"There's something I gotta take care of," Hige replied over his shoulder with a pensive tone.  
  
Eri frowned in his wake, watching Toboe hurry after him before she hit the button for the switch for the detective. "Like I said," she sighed slightly before taking Tsume's hand in hers and following the pup.  
  
Tsume stopped them from following when they were just shy of the prison doors, digging his heels in and bringing her to a halt. "You're just gonna forgive him that easily?" He demanded, releasing her hand as he scowled on her.  
  
Eri quieted for a moment before nodding as she remarked, "at least he wants to repent for it, compared to those dicks back home." She minded the hesitance to be so forgiving as it lingered in his darkened eyes, lifting a hand to touch the scar on his chest and musing even though his larger hand grabbed hers, "you've never said why or how you got this… but you don't have to explain to me. I don't judge people for what they did in another life, even less if I care about them."  
  
Sobering at her assurance, having quelled a shiver when her smaller hand touched the scar, Tsume groaned under his breath. "I don't know if you're too kind or insane to not judge what I've done, but I… I'm glad you're alright," he mused in a softened tone, watching her face soften with a smirk.

A quiet growl came from him as his ears flattened and he bared his teeth, rousing her, and he heard her also growling and squirming against the cables.  
  
_**Goodbye, Kiba and Nikki… soon this one is going to wither**_ …  
  
‘ _You can’t, Cheza! Please!’_ Nikki growled, angered that they were helpless to do anything, fighting against the cables that restrained her.  
  
She couldn’t lose anyone, not Kiba or the others, or Cheza…!  
  
A thundering snarl erupted from the white wolf as his gold eyes snapped open and he found the strength to break free of the cables. He heard a snapping of cables and an equally-angered snarl come from his counterpart as she too broke free.  
  
Both wolves bounced off of the circular pane of a large stained-glass window behind them to land on a ledge that looked into a billowy black cloud that had formed before them, seeming to beckon them forward.  
  
Kiba looked to her, the island who had stolen his heart on that tower what felt like years back, seeing her look back.  
  
Nikki smiled wryly, stretching the forming scars on her pretty face, as silver met gold.  
  
The chosen pair jumped into the cloud.

The four wolves perked up when hearing Cheza say the names of their missing packmates, looking at the doorway of the hall as both black and white wolf stood there.  
  
Jaguara turned to glare at the angered couple, bristling. “What do you want? Get out!” She snapped coldly.  
  
‘ _Paradise is **ours**!’_ Nikki silenced her.  
  
Kiba finished in an equally-heated snarl before leading the charge, _‘and we’re taking it back!_ ’  
  
Tsume regarded the scratches and forming scars on his sister’s body and took comfort in seeing her alive, perking up when she approached them.  
  
“Hige…?” Nikki wondered rather hesitantly at seeing and smelling the blood from his injured ribs, looking at the weak smile he afforded when their eyes met as she began, “but I thought…”  
  
“Help Kiba.” Tsume interrupted, drawing her back to reality, amber meeting blue and he nodded to silently assure her that they would be fine.  
  
Angered tears started to make her eyes puffy and she nodded curtly, regarding the discarded sword nearby and snatching it up before turning to join her mate.  
  
Kiba bounced away from narrowly getting cut by her sword, ears perking when the witch rushed him as a streak of black dove between them and made a metallic ‘ _klang’_ rip into the air that made his ears hurt.  
  
Jaguara glowered at the sword-toting wolf who locked stares with her before she sharply shoved her away. “How foolish of me… I should’ve killed you when I had the chance!” The witch spat as she raised her free hand at the she-wolf as a glowing white circle began to form beneath her boots, surprising the other.  
  
A snarl rang out as Kiba dove in and snapped her wrist in his jaws, skirting away as a howl of pain came from the witch. He watched her turn to glare at him and he bared his teeth, rushing forward just as Nikki shook out of the beginning paralysis and also rushed the witch.  
  
Nikki bounced away, landing opposite Kiba and looked at Jaguara whose throat had been torn by their teeth, wrinkling her nose when the felled noble who had approached the dying witch stabbed her in the heart. Looking at the sword she had taken, she released the hilt and looked at it with disgust.  
  
Darcia looked at the black wolf who glared his way and said bemusedly, “you truly are your father’s daughter… I see that, now.”  
  
Nikki stiffened in place before a soft growl came from her throat as she started to demand, “how do you…?”  
  
“You’re not a wolf, or a noble… what are you?” Kiba cut in coldly as he came to her side, also glaring at the noble with hardened eyes.  
  
Darcia regarded the defensive pair and withdrew an orb from his dark robes that looked inky black with hints of blue or violet glinting off its rounded surface. “I was chosen as well,” he returned the orb to his robes and added to them, “I understand now that it isn’t merely that _we_ search for Paradise, but that Paradise is calling for us.”  
  
Kiba watched him turn to leave the hall in silence and looked at his mate's confused scowl that looked elsewhere, asking carefully, “did he know your father?”  
  
Nikki shook her head and looked at him as she replied quietly, “no, I… I dunno how he knew. I was small when our pack was killed, remember?”  
  
Eyes tightening a bit at the enigma neither of them could figure out, Kiba nodded and touched her cheek with a gentle hand, his face softening when she kept his hand.


	21. No Angels II

Hige stared on at something none of his companions could reach, “I swore to her that I’d make it back, no matter what…”  
  
“It prolly wasn’t safe anymore when all that happened… I’ll bet even Blue had to run!” Toboe offered.  
  
Tsume countered blandly, “or maybe she didn’t think you’d keep your promise.”  
  
“Give it a rest, Tsume… he’s suffered enough.” Eri scolded as she elbowed him, stuffing her hands in her pockets and ignoring his scowl.  
  
Cheza surprised the tan wolf when she placed a gentle hand on his injured side and tried to mend his wound with what powers she had left. “Do not give up… the true Paradise is meant for each of you.” She said quietly.  
  
Hige winced at the mention and smiled for her as he assured, “it’s all right, I feel better…”  
  
“You have to go.” Cheza insisted.  
  
Shame washed over him again and Hige looked away. “Kiba, make her stop,” he protested.  
  
Kiba stepped closer to take Cheza away and hand her off to Tsume before turning to help Hige up, not missing the guilt in his garnet eyes.  
  
“Aren’t you gonna say anything? Like how Jaguara and I…” Hige huffed bitterly before quieting when he was lifted up by his friend, looking at him with confusion.  
  
“You told me once that pride doesn’t count if you’re dead… we started out trying to look for Paradise, together, and that hasn’t changed even now. It's not gonna change, no matter what.” Kiba stated as he looked at him.  
  
Hige lowered his gaze before perking up when a slender arm took to supporting his free side, looking at her blue gaze.  
  
Nikki reminded gently as she stopped the question that sparked in his eyes with a smile for his sake, “don’t try to convince me otherwise, Hige… you're as much of a brother to me, too, at this point.”  
  
Hige recognized that she remained his friend despite the hell he had put her through, and he smiled tentatively in defeat.

Toboe was first to the weary tan wolf’s side. _‘Hige, hang in there_ …’ he urged.  
  
‘ _Come on, don’t even think about it.’_ Eri added as she nosed his cheek hopefully.  
  
A breeze softly howled past them, carrying a familiar scent, causing the six to look up at the nearby incline as a ball of black fur was racing to them from the top.  
  
_‘Hige… Hige! **Hige**!_’ The wolf-dog called with hope in her voice, causing the named wolf to scramble to his feet rather clumsily and hobble to greet her, jumping the distance between them to collide with him.  
  
Nikki beamed at the reunited couple that romped like happy pups and she looked away when a muzzle nudged her cheek, looking at Kiba and the soft light in his gold eyes before she nosed back, relieved as he was that their pack was together again.


	22. Fallen Star

The winds softly howled as the odd party’s camp slept… well _most_ of them, anyway.  
  
Tsume looked at her as she sat with him instead of sleeping by her mate and wondered quietly, _‘can’t sleep?_ ’  
  
‘ _I wanted to ask you something.’_ Nikki replied, continuing in the same tone when he lifted a furry brow, _‘that night when Mum and Dad died, do you remember which direction the airship came from?_ ’  
  
Ears folding slightly at the memory, Tsume looked elsewhere at Toboe who slept near the girls as he began, ‘ _it was so long ago, Nik_ …’  
  
_‘Tsume_.’ Nikki snapped his name with some gentility, scowling when his dark gold met her silver.  
  
Tsume held her stare before puffing.‘ _The west I think… why?’_ He returned when seeing the recognition and measure of horror fill her gaze, frowning.  
  
Nikki’s ears lowered as she explained softly, _‘Darcia said something to me, made it sound like he knew what happened to Dad… but that’s not possible, right? It can’t be_ …’ Both siblings looked away to the humans with them as a groan came from where they slept, most likely from the old hunter, rousing the rest of them as Blue was first to his side.  
  
“Pops!” Blue said with relief as she came to his left, sharing a brief smile with Eri and Toboe who hung back a bit.  
  
The hunter asked, “Blue, where are you?”  
  
“It’s okay Pops, I’m here, right beside you.”  
  
“There you are, good girl, Blue… who else is here with you?”  
  
“It’s me, Quent… you remember?” The detective named Hubb piped up.  
  
The hunter smiled wryly as he replied, “yeah, Detective Dandy…”  
  
“Can’t you see him, Pops?” Blue asked.  
  
“The only thing I can make out is a bunch of blurs,” Quent answered.  
  
Toboe came closer to Blue’s side as he smiled again, “hey, he finally woke up. That’s great…”  
  
“Is that the boy?” Quent perked up at the pup’s voice, missing the tension coming from the rest of the pack, adding pensively, “but it’s not just him, is it? There are others… I can sense them.”  
  
Blue hesitated as she was first to answer, “well Pops, they’re… the thing is…”  
  
“We’re the wolves you’ve been hunting.” Kiba answered calmly.

The winds howled loudly as they picked up in the aftermath of the laser that had shot off in the distance that then created a dust storm in its wake.  
  
“A voice is crying out… there is pain, and such sadness…” Cheza declared from being huddled close to the two she-wolves.  
  
Kiba looked over at her, “was something hurt by that light, Cheza?”  
  
Cheza replied, “we must go to it… take this one.” She missed both older males sharing a nod.  
  
“Hige and the others haven’t come back, yet!” Toboe pointed out.  
  
Tsume nodded as he instructed the two males, “Kiba, stay with the girls and I’ll go after Hige and Blue. The humans are up to you, Toboe.”  
  
“Got it!” Toboe nodded back before he took off.  
  
Eri called after him, “be careful, Toboe!” If he gave a response, she barely heard it, as the winds howled again.  
  
“So you sensed it too.”  
  
“I felt it early on in Jaguara’s keep… I first thought he’d planned to leave us once we got there, but this started before he got his memory back.”  
  
“Yeah.”  
  
“… I know all about betrayal.”  
  
“But he didn’t know, not really.” Both males looked at her. “He didn’t mean to lead us to that place.”  
  
“You didn’t exactly see the trophy room, Eri…” Tsume retorted, giving her a dry scowl.  
  
Kiba quietly agreed with her, “she’s right, he didn’t betray us. It was all circumstance.”  
  
Tsume quieted and looked elsewhere as he stated, “when it’s all said and done, he was trying to fool us right to the very end… after all this, he still couldn’t tell us the truth.”  
  
“But we both felt something was off… right?” Kiba wondered.  
  
“Yeah.” Tsume replied as he looked at him.  
  
Nikki exhaled shortly as she scowled between the two males and said, “you’re both idiots, y’know that? Hige’s still my friend, despite what just happened… he’s still pack to me.”  
  
Kiba quieted at her scolding and smiled ruefully as he mused, “I’m starting to wonder who’s more stubborn between the two of us.”  
  
Eri looked over at Tsume who had looked her way and she smiled wryly when their eyes met. 

Kiba punted his hand away from the man’s throat as Nikki shielded him while he coughed for air, both wolves glowering at the noble. ‘ _We know you have the stone that will open Paradise… what’re you waiting for?’_ The white wolf snapped.  
  
“For wolves, namely you two.” Darcia answered.  
  
_‘What was that?_ ’ The black wolf growled as she bared her teeth.  
  
“Soon you will lose everything… as I have lost everything. All that you possess must be discarded before entering: that is the law of the new world.” He sneered at the two growling wolves, flashing pointed fangs as he added, ‘ _the seal has been broken. Hurry… Paradise is right under your nose.’_  
  
Turning into the winds, he disappeared with a black laugh that made her growl.  
  
The howling winds died and calmed around them, leaving the chosen pair and the detective.  
  
Nikki glared at where the noble had been, annoyed and tired, looking at the human with a slight exhale as she wondered, “you said your name was Hubb… you alright?”  
  
The man blinked once at being talked to by the alpha female, nodding slightly and replying, “um, yeah. Thanks for that.”  
  
“C’mon, we need to get moving.” Kiba reminded, tugging at her hand on reflex and receiving a nod, before the trio returned to where the pack was.  
  
They made it back to the others in silence, grief lingering on the cold air like fog, as Hubb was first to approach the dead hunter.  
  
Tears started to fill her blue eyes as Nikki regarded the pup and approached Eri’s side. She placed a hand on her shoulder, meeting her brown stare that was puffy from sobbing, pulling her into a hug that was returned gladly.  
  
Kiba was first to howl for their loss, throwing his voice to the air. Eri shortly followed with a remorseful note, having Nikki's grieving howl sync with hers.  
  
The wolves sang of their grief to the dying world, and even Cheza was singing her wordless song.


	23. 'Til My Scars Bleed Gold

“We’ve got to keep moving. He’s still out there looking for Paradise… but it's _ours_ that he wants to open.” Kiba stated grimly.  
  
Hige wondered at large, “but it doesn’t make sense. If he can open Paradise, then why doesn’t he open the one for the nobles?”  
  
“The Tree of All Seeds is there, on the horizon… it told this one.” Cheza said quietly.  
  
Nikki straightened first as she pointed out, “then we’ve got to get to it before he does.” She looked at her pack and added, “c'mon, there’s no time to waste.”  
  
Tsume spoke up for the first time since they’d found Toboe, “so what’s your plan, Porky… after coming all this way, what’re you gonna do? Where’re you gonna run to this time?” He looked back at said wolf.  
  
Eri had half a right mind to smack him as she snapped in a hoarse voice, “Tsume, _please_.”  
  
Hige looked elsewhere, slightly clenching his teeth as he replied, “I’m not running… just figured you lot never needed me in the first place, and I guess you never did.”  
  
Kiba reminded pointedly, “nothing is indispensable and none of us are more vital than the other, Hige… not anymore.”  
  
“Except for you two,” Hige argued, nodding to the chosen pair as he finished, “our Paradise can’t be opened unless _the both of you_ are there. You and Nikki are the only ones out of us all that can go all the way… Tsume must've figured that out by now.” He glanced over at said wolf who bristled a bit at the reminder.  
  
Nikki’s hands clenched into fists and a growl escaped her as she stepped up to him to state sternly, “Paradise isn't meant for just Kiba or me, okay? It’s meant for **all of us** who’ve shed blood, sweat, and tears to get this far… I for one am not leaving anyone behind, and that includes **you** , Hige!”  
  
Hige looked at his old friend with some surprise before he looked away again as her words stung despite ringing true. Bitterly he recalled that she'd never had reason to lie to him… not even when he had lied to her.  
  
Blue also stood, surprising him for a moment as she stated, “I’m still going… even if I’m turned away at the gates of Paradise, I’ll keep going for as long as I can. You're coming, too… we promised we’d stay together, remember?” She bristled a bit when the pudgy wolf pretended to ignore her and added sharply, “stop making excuses, I know you wanna go!”  
  
Hige’s eyes widened slightly and he looked up at her as he began, “Blue…”  
  
The ground shook beneath their feet then, surprising the pack, as the rumbling caused fissures to form before the quakes stopped moments later as silence fell on them.  
  
Kiba frowned as he mused, “it’s starting to fall apart, even this close to the center…” Looking on his mate he had pulled close out of protection, he asked quietly, “you okay?”  
  
Nikki nodded as she gently detangled from his grip and replied, “yeah.”  
  
“We’d better get moving.” Hubb mused, earning glances from the wolves, “don’t worry about me; when it starts to look like I’m slowing you down, I’ll handle it.” He lifted a concealed gun from the hunter’s coat and checked the clip before tucking it in his pocket as he added, “c'mon, I wanna see how far I can go, too.”  
  
Tsume said as the pack started to leave, “go on ahead, I’ll catch up… I wanna talk to the runt for a while.”  
  
Kiba nodded, “we understand.”  
  
“Tsume…” Nikki looked back at him as she ushered Cheza ahead with Blue.  
  
Eri approached his side as she offered quietly, “I’ll stay with you.”  
  
“You two go with them… don’t worry about me.” Tsume instructed both girls, looking at them over his shoulder even though he looked namely to his sister.  
  
Nikki smiled wryly as she understood and replied, “don’t take too long.”  
  
Eri watched the chosen pair lead the way towards the mountains, looking at the older wolf and squeezing his shoulder, “tell him goodbye for me.” She turned and jogged after their pack's leave.

Kiba looked at her as she panted slightly and looked back at the way they had come, asking, “pointless as this is gonna sound, _are_ you okay?”  
  
Smiling ruefully at the memory his question brought forth, Nikki nodded. “Yeah, just kinda tired… guess it's been a long week. Kiba, I never asked this before now, and don't freak when I do, but… if we somehow blow this…” she began with a measure of hesitation.  
  
“We're so close, Nikki, there's no chance of messing it up now…” Kiba started to shush her, quieting when she stroked his cheek.  
  
Nikki lowered her hand and finished patiently, “if something happens, I'll look for you next time. And you... you’ll look for me next time, won’t you?”  
  
Their stares held as a chilled breeze passed their ledge, and, recognizing that she said it to be realistic rather than doubtful, Kiba nodded back. “That’s a big ‘ **if** ’… but yeah. I'll find you, no matter what,” he mused, smiling fondly when her eyes brightened and adding, "kinda have to, if neither of us can function without the other."  
  
Nikki nodded along at that, smiling back as she kissed him sweetly before drawing back and admitting in a soft tone, "I love you."  
  
Both wolves winced slightly when the earth quaked again, and she winced when he pulled her close on habit, before they heard a cry come from the human a few ledges below.  
  
“Don’t let go!” Nikki barked as they hurried to see if he was okay, looking down at him as he clung to a lower ledge.  
  
Hubb looked back up at the wolves, “so much for the tough-talking human… I guess I won’t make it to Paradise, after all. Too bad; I wanted to see this through with you ‘til the end, but this is as far as I can go…”  
  
“You’ve gotta hold on!” Kiba said as he started to go down to help him, perking up when Nikki grabbed his sleeve.  
  
Nikki warned when he started to protest, “don’t do it, you won’t make it back if there’s another tremor.”  
  
“She’s right, don’t come down!” Hubb agreed, earning both wolves’ attention as he added, “it’s okay, I’m not afraid of dying. You wolves will open up the next world for us… I believe that now, more than anything. Guess I didn’t need that gun after all…” He released the ledge.  
  
Nikki flinched when he fell, releasing his sleeve as she asked quietly, “you okay?”  
  
Kiba nodded, smiling for her as he replied, “yeah…”  
  
‘ _ **Only then will appear the wretched beast**.’_ A familiar growl drawled from above, surprising the wolves, as a pair of mismatched eyes gleamed from one of the higher ledges.

‘ _The world where you would go hand-in-hand with the Flower Maiden has neither perfect joy, happiness, or life.’_ Cheza winced. _‘This is also because it doesn’t contain perfect sadness, misery, or death._ ’ The maroon beast flashed his teeth in a cold grin.  
  
Hige gaped, “he actually did it… he turned into a wolf…!”  
  
“No.” Nikki corrected softly, glaring up at the transformed noble as she stated, “he’s just a cursed monster… cursed by Paradise!”  
  
Eri bristled in disgust as she shielded Cheza.  
  
‘ _What lies in wait is a Paradise for wolves alone… the unclean humans are no more.’_ Darcia stated.  
  
Blue bristled as she stepped closer to Hige’s side, “bastard… you killed him, you killed Pops!” She growled.  
  
Darcia ignored the half-wolf as he looked to the girl, _‘come with me, Cheza, it’s time… what I have become has a great need for you_.’ He started to descend towards the five wolves and the trembling girl.  
  
“That's far enough.” Kiba growled out, watching the large wolf slowly look from his mate to him, adding to the tan wolf, “Hige, go on ahead. Take the girls with you… keep them safe.” He stepped forward to greet the beast.  
  
A soft cackle came from the hulking wolf before he met his challenge, rushing him before they both glanced off each other and then sprinted to the higher ledges.  
  
Canines lengthened as she had a vague sense of déjà vu, Nikki huffed and mused aloud, “typical tough guy, thinkin’ he can shoulder this on his own…” She rushed forward.  
  
“Nikki, hang on!” Hige declared, causing her to stop and look back at him as he added, “Kiba said…”  
  
“I know what he said, but I’ll be fine… just protect Cheza.” Nikki assured, offering a smile for him, before she ran up the incline.  
  
Kiba’s fur flew in the air as he was knocked against a boulder, and he perked up when a streak of black latched onto the noble’s thick pelt from the side, watching the two darker wolves peel away as he barked, ‘ _Nikki!’_  
  
Nikki growled angrily when Darcia punted her away, ears perking at seeing him sprint towards the others. ‘ _Cheza!’_ She barked.  
  
Hige and Eri blocked him from grabbing said girl as Blue launched herself at him from the side with her teeth in his ribs.  
  
Darcia looked down at the half-wolf before flipping to then land on the cold rock with Blue breaking his fall as a loud yelp of pain came from her.  
  
Cheza flinched and covered her head as the gray wolf rushed forward with a snarl.  
  
_‘Blue!_ ’ Eri head-butted him away from the darker wolf, yelping slightly as he caught her scruff in his teeth and tossed her away so she hit a nearby boulder.  
  
‘ _No!’_ Kiba exclaimed as the maroon beast stood over the black wolf.  
  
_‘ **Blue**!_’ Hige shouted.  
  
Nikki head-butted Darcia square in the forehead and knocked him away with an angered snarl, perking up when Hige shortly joined her, sinking his teeth into said noble’s back paw from behind.  
  
Darcia slowly looked down at the tan wolf whose amber eyes widened as their stares held for a second, before blood flew.  
  
‘ _Hige!’_ Kiba exclaimed when the tan wolf cried out in pain.  
  
Darcia had moved quicker than any of the remaining trio, grabbing the girl by the waist and giving them a daunting look, before he raced up the mountainside.  
  
“Hige!” Eri declared as she was first to his side, looking up at Nikki who had stopped shy of following Kiba to double back to help their packmate, frustrated tears started to well in her brown eyes.  
  
Hige shook his head and looked at both she-wolves, “go after him, hurry!” At the worry in their eyes, he afforded a small smile and added, “I’ll take care of Blue.”  
  
Tears stung at her dirtied cheeks as Nikki nodded solemnly, “we’ll see each other again, Hige… in Paradise.” She looked at Eri who rubbed her nose with a sniff before looking to Kiba and the sad look on his face.  
  
Eri smiled weakly as she looked at the tan wolf a second longer before following both chosen wolves who had taken off first, and her nose was red as she refused to look back even though she wanted to, giving a quiet whimper of grief.


	24. Knife

Eri started to rush at the beast when she was stopped by a gentle hand on her arm, looking at the alpha female.  
  
Nikki glanced at her as she urged softly, “see if she’s all right… I’ve got this.” Blue met brown before the latter nodded and stepped back.  
  
Darcia sneered at the chosen pair, _‘I will be the one who opens Paradise._ ’  
  
“We’re not gonna let you do it.” Kiba growled.  
  
‘ _But why ever not? Though opposites in nature, are not the three of us wolves? It makes no difference which one opens it… Paradise will be the same_ …’  
  
“That's horseshit; the only world you'd open would be a soulless one.” Nikki spat.  
  
Darcia glanced to her before his mismatched glare met her mate’s cold glare, and he lunged.  
  
Kiba met his challenge, and both wolves glanced off each other in mid-air before landing on the ground.  
  
“Eri.” Nikki nodded to the younger wolf who went as told, rushing forward as Darcia touched ground first, barreling into him and sending him rolling. She charged him again as he scrambled to his feet, fangs tearing into his thick scruff.  
  
Both darker wolves rolled and snapped at one another with claws or fangs, and, it was after rolling him onto his back a third time that she realized with shock that she hadn't drawn an ounce of blood.  
  
Darcia seized the chance to sprint for a broad boulder nearby, slamming his back into it and hearing a sharp cry come from the female who fell from his back, turning her over to slam a paw onto her windpipe and bare his teeth as he regarded the furious fire burning in her eyes, drawling coldly, ‘ _one mercy I give to you is this: I am the noble who eradicated your pack all those years ago.’_  
  
_‘ **GET AWAY FROM HER**!_’ Two voices exclaimed in chorus before Darcia was thrown off her by a white and gray wolf.  
  
Nikki gasped for air, coughing as she scrambled up before looking at Eri who came to her side. “H-he was the one…” she panted softly.  
  
“Guess I should be glad ya solved that mystery…” Tsume mused despite his gaze that coldly locked on the maroon monster, knife in hand as he added to her offender, “still, I can't forgive you tryin' to kill my kid sister.”  
  
“Tsume…” Eri greeted with a relieved smile, her ears twitching when seeing Hige wasn't present and her eyes saddened again.  
  
“Where’s Hige?” Kiba asked at recognizing the same, and the concern in his eyes fell away as he put two and two together when Tsume didn’t answer.  
  
Darcia bristled at having a shallow cut now marking the right side of his face, ‘ _why do you continue this pointless struggle? Paradise can’t be opened by a mongrel like you!’_  
  
“Save your breath, asshole! I already know.” Tsume snapped, pretending he didn’t feel Nikki’s gaze digging into his back.  
  
Another tremor shook their footing, and the white wolf perked up to see Cheza climbing up the side of the mountain to the top.  
  
“Cheza!” Eri barked as Kiba and Nikki took off after her, sprinting after them at top speed. She skidded to a halt when Darcia, who had torn after the chosen pair, was diverted from following by Tsume who crashed into him from the side. “ **No**!” She shrieked as the two fought, doubling back to help him.  
  
_“Cheza!_ ” Nikki cried as she and Kiba reached to grab the girl who had turned to smile sadly at them when reaching the top, both of their extended hands failing as she dropped into the darkened mouth of the mountain.  
  
“ **Eri**!” Tsume snarled as Darcia tossed the wounded wolf away, sinking down near a stout rock and watching him race up the mountainside to drop into the mouth after the girl.  
  
“Tsume!” Nikki called, racing to his side as Kiba brushed past her to check on Eri, dropping to her knees at her brother's right with tears welling in her eyes. “Tsume, are you okay…?” she began softly.  
  
“I’m a little tired, that’s all… don't start the water-works, go after him!” Tsume snapped stubbornly, scowling at the tears that began to spill down her pretty face.  
  
Nikki shook her head as she snapped back even with cracks in her voice that made her stammer a bit, “don’t be stupid, I can’t leave you now! I-I won’t… M-Mum always told me to stay with you, dummy…”  
  
“I know she did, 'cuz she knew I’d protect you… but one of us has to make it to Paradise, right? That's you, Nik… it’s always been you. You’ve always been stronger, so you’re the one who's gotta get that bastard.” Tsume quieted her, and his eyes were sad but he cracked a knowing smile for her as he added in a quieter tone, “I know you’ll do it… you're my hardass sister.”  
  
Closing her eyes tight at the rush of grief at leaving her brother, Nikki whimpered softly, “Tsume…” she embraced him, hugging his neck and adding with a sniff, “I love you, jerkface.”  
  
Tsume smiled slightly and hugged back best he could. “I love you too, and I’ll find you… I swear I’ll find you, when we meet in Paradise.” He promised, feeling her nod, before he looked away as Eri came limping up to them with half of her weight being supported by Kiba, his eyes soft when she cracked a relieved smile at seeing him one more time.  
  
“I’ll take care of him,” Eri assured quietly as she broke away from Kiba's helping hand to sit with the other gray wolf, nodding when meeting Nikki's saddened stare and adding, “go.”  
  
Kiba nodded back and offered his hand to his mate who took his hand and stood, looking at the couple for another moment before he led her away to the mouth of the mountain as they jumped into the darkness together.

_‘Why discard what you are by becoming a wolf?_ ’ He asked.  
  
He explained, “any Paradise I intend to open as a noble would fail in comparison. When I saw Jaguara’s Paradise through my wolf’s eye, I understood that it was only an illusion. Hamona is not there… no, the Hamona I once loved doesn’t exist. I was able to revive the hidden wolf within me using this stone.”  
  
He hacked and spat out the stone he’d shown them only days ago, the once-glimmering stone crumbled into smoking pieces like charcoal, continuing as a beast, ‘ _in this world there are wolves, and there are creatures created from them. Not all humans were born from the wolf and there're also those who began their existence as wolves, but in their true form they embraced humanity… none of them are aware of this. They have forgotten what they once were and can’t change back.’_  
  
‘ _You’re saying you really remembered?’_ She bristled.  
  
A slow toothy grin formed on his face that made her stomach lurch. _‘A simple notion occurred to me that everything that has happened has prepared the way to guide you two here,_ ’ he growled.  
  
_‘ **What**?’_ Both chosen wolves demanded in chorus.  
  
He drawled, ‘ _why do you think your clans died out, leaving you as the sole survivors? You never had a pack… you were always the uniquely created pair of wolves.’_  
  
‘ _Lying sack of rat-shit!’_ She growled out as she bared her teeth.  
  
He ignored her, ‘ _you were all that was ever needed to open Paradise… those worthless mongrels you brought with you weren’t necessary.’_  
  
_‘It’s true that I was alone… I was always alone. But the only world I could open would be a world that’s meaningless to me, and that kind of Paradise is nothing!_ ’ Kiba stated.  
  
‘ _You’ve lost everything that was precious to you!’_ Darcia sneered.  
  
Kiba’s lips drew back to bare his teeth. ‘ _I haven’t lost anything! Not my friends, not Nikki, nor my pride as a wolf… nothing!’_ He snarled as he flew at him.  
  
Nikki looked over at Cheza as she was trying to get up, ears perking as Kiba was sent flying back by a sharp punt from Darcia, and she looked away to rush into the fight.  
  
Darcia advanced on the white wolf before snarling in pain as the she-wolf tore into his belly from the side, kicking her off, snarling angrily as she scrambled to her feet and they circled each other.  
  
Nikki bared her teeth in the same manner before she gave a brief bark and flew at him with a newer sense of rage, hopping onto his back and tearing into his fur as she held fast when he twisted to try and knock her off, snarling at him, _‘ **you screwed with the wrong pack**!_’  
  
Darcia growled as he jumped into the air to land on the cold ground on his back, hearing the she-wolf yelp in pain as she had cushioned the fall.  
  
Nikki shut her eyes tight for one painful second as she tried to get air back into her lungs, barely stifling a whimper when he pinned her by his larger paw on her windpipe, blearily looking up at his mismatched glare.  
  
A ferocious snarl ripped into the air as Kiba hurtled into the noble from the side and sent them both tumbling away from the she-wolf who scrambled to her feet.  
  
Nikki panted as the air rushed back into her lungs and slightly gasped at seeing Cheza’s limbs having stretched out like a tree. ‘ _Cheza_ …’ her ears perked as Darcia approached the girl and she sprinted to protect her, snarling at him.  
  
Darcia made to lunge when the white wolf shortly joined his mate in protecting the girl.  
  
Kiba bared his teeth angrily, gold eyes dangerous, as he met the noble’s lunge. Fur flew again as they fought before he was thrown down, and a yelp of pain came from him when the noble ripped into his bum hip.  
  
Nikki launched herself at Darcia then, knocking him away from her mate, angrily tearing into his ribs before she was kicked away. She shook off the pain and rushed him in a rage.  
  
Kiba looked between Cheza and Nikki, for a moment marveling at how viciously the latter fought, gold eyes widening sharply when she yelped as the noble grabbed her throat in his jaws and tossed her away like a rag-doll. ‘ _NO!’_ He roared as he flew at the beast, his blood singing as he tore into the noble.  
  
Head spinning as she lifted it after regaining her breath, Nikki watched him fight, her chest aching awfully at finding he still looked majestic in his own way and her ears perked when he was thrown away by the noble who approached their charge.  
  
‘ _Kiba…’_ she whined softly as she limped to his side to help him up, feeling him lean onto her as he stood, looking away as Darcia grabbed the girl and uprooted her to toss her away like a dead leaf. _‘Please, leave her alone!_ ’ She pleaded as he approached the girl.  
  
Darcia cackled to himself before pausing to retch a dark green bile, surprising the two wolves as well as himself.  
  
Cheza spoke for the first time since they had reached the mountain, voice soft as she addressed the beast, “what flows through this one’s veins is poison… you were not protected by the flowers, so that poison is within you now.”  
  
Darcia rasped slightly as he regarded the trail the bile left as it stopped short of a large pond, following the trail with another cackle as he thought aloud, ‘ _this is it, the entrance to Paradise…’_  
  
Placing a foot on the frozen water, he perked up as a bright light illuminated him. His hollow cries of pain rang on the deadened air as he was destroyed before their eyes, before his one mismatched eye dropped onto the water’s surface and froze upon contact.  
  
‘ _He was rejected by Paradise…_ ’ Nikki breathed tiredly, feeling as if a massive weight had been dropped on her before she sank down to the cold ground as her aching body demanded rest.  
  
Without resistance she let her world go black.

A warm nose nudged her cheek.  
  
Stiffly opening her eyes, her gaze focused on her alpha whose gold eyes held worry and relief as they met her silver and she relaxed to begin in a soft voice, ‘ _Kiba_ …’  
  
_‘It’s okay, don’t move so much_.’ He assured quietly, giving her a mild look when she ignored him to sit on her haunches.  
  
She looked around at finding nothing but white around them, knowing with a sad sensation that this wasn’t Paradise. She asked when he sat with her, ‘ _Cheza… where is she?’_  
  
He nodded to the discarded white flower on the ground near his paws, meeting her tired gaze as he explained, _‘she’s gone. But she said she’d find us, again… next time_.’  
  
She nodded and looked up for a moment at the snow that fell around them in a gentle way, shivering at the reality of their pack's state as she noted, _‘Tsume, and the others… everyone’s gone_.’  
  
He shuffled to curl up with her when she lay back down, resting his head on hers as she curled up into his side all-too-happily.  
  
_‘I love you_.’  
  
‘ _I love you too_.’  
  
The snow continued to fall as the chosen pair, one white and one black, let the dark blanket of sleep take them so long as they were together.

_____ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this isn't exactly over! i've got a sequel in the works, i'm just trying to iron out the details. 
> 
> thanks to those of you who've bothered to read through this fic, it's kind of sad to finish it but it's not all bad. i'm happy to have written this, and hey maybe some kudos or whatnot might inspire me to get the sequel out faster? i could be wrong. 
> 
> thanks guys, for taking the time to read this, you're all amazing.


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